Navigating uncharted waters
by Starryknight09
Summary: Sequel to 'The darkest hour is just before the dawn'. Tony and Peter struggle to settle in and navigate their new roles as father and son while an unforeseen threat looms on the horizon.
1. Chapter 1

Peter sprinted through the hallway. The excitement bubbled up in him, and he couldn't keep the huge smile off his face. Class was finally over. The day had seemed to drag on and on, but now it was officially the weekend. And not just any weekend. It was the first weekend he'd get to don the Spiderman suit since school started a little over a month ago. Bruce had finally cleared him last night to his dad's obvious dismay. Well Tony would just have to get over it because he planned to spend his entire weekend catching up on lost time.

"Peter where are you going?" Ned called out behind him. "Wait up!"

Peter spun around but kept up a swift backwards pace as he addressed his friend. "I have to get home! I have plans for tonight remember?"

"I know, but can't I come with you?" Ned said out of breath as he ran to catch up. "Guy in the chair, remember?"

Peter laughed, bright and delighted. "Next time!"

Ned's face crumpled enough that Peter felt a stab of remorse at the flippant denial.

"I promise." Peter added, which drew a reluctant smile from Ned.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Ned said as Peter whipped back around and started running down the hallway again. "And don't forget to come over tomorrow! Like you promised!"

"I won't! See you tomorrow!" Peter responded over his shoulder before he burst through the school doors and bounded down the steps three at a time. His foot had just landed on the second to last step when his spidey sense went off. The split second he spent trying to figure out what could possibly be a threat to him in the middle of the day at school cost him. His right shoulder hit something solid and unyielding and threw him off balance. He couldn't stop his forward momentum so he spun and went flying to the ground. Luckily, he managed to get his left hand out to cushion his fall slightly before his side hit the concrete and he rolled a couple times to a stop.

He sat up and his attention was instantly drawn to a group of kids laughing nearby. In the center was Flash. Of course. Peter figured out what must've happened a second later. Flash had been in the perfect position to step forward and clip him with a well placed shoulder. Peter felt his cheeks heat. He was a superhero and he'd been brought down by a schoolyard bully. Nice. Flash shouldn't have been able to do that, but Peter had been off balance and Flash must've put all his weight into the blow. Physics in action.

Peter glared at them as he stood brusquely, refusing to give Flash the satisfaction of seeing that the fall had affected him in any way. He leaned over and picked up the few books and notebooks that had scattered from his backpack during his fall. He quickly shoved them back into their proper place.

"Yeah haha very funny jackass." Peter couldn't keep the angry retort from escaping at Flash's continued laughs.

"What'd you call me?" Flash's amused smirk was wiped away with a glower as he took a menacing step toward Peter.

"You heard me." Peter scowled back and took his own step forward, refusing to back down. He was so sick of Flash and his bullshit, although this was the first time the other boy had gotten physical with him.

"What? Are you a tough guy now?" Flash threatened as he closed the remaining distance between them and gave Peter's shoulders a rough shove.

"Fuck off." Peter said angrily and shoved Flash back hard enough so his classmate stumbled. A stormy look crossed Flash's face as he recovered. In a split second Peter realized this was escalating quickly and he was about to get into an actual fistfight. And not as Spiderman. As Peter Parker. At school. A thrum of adrenaline shot through him. He knew he should back down but he was too fed up with all the crap he'd endured from Flash over the years to care. And it wasn't as if Flash could do any real damage to him.

"Hey! What's going on over here?" A very stern adult voice interrupted before Flash's clenched fist could pull back to land the punch Peter knew he had planned.

Peter and Flash both took an abrupt step back from each other, neither wanting to get detention from whichever teacher had chanced upon them. Or not a teacher actually, Peter realized as he turned toward the voice and saw the man it belonged to rapidly approaching. Happy.

"You all right kid?" Happy asked as he came to Peter's side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Peter reassured, expecting Happy to start to pull him toward the car. But instead, Peter watched as he turned to face Flash and took a threatening step forward, placing himself between Peter and Flash.

"And who the hell are you punk?" Happy growled and Peter could read the obvious flicker of fear in Flash's eyes.

Peter took a moment to appreciate the imposing figure Happy cut in his dark suit and black wayfarer sunglasses. It was easy to forget that before Ironman, Happy had been Tony Stark's personal bodyguard, but the way he was posturing now gave Peter no doubt that he'd earned the job. And as much as he knew he didn't need the physical protection, he still appreciated the defense.

"Um I'm uh no one." Flash said nervously as he took another couple steps back from Happy and looked around for an ally. The rest of his friends had already disappeared, abandoning him as soon as an adult had shown up. It was clear Flash hadn't expected to be aggressively confronted for his behavior.

"You're damn right you're no one." Happy spat. "And if I ever catch you messing with Peter again, I promise you won't like the consequences. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Yeah-yeah it's clear. C-crystal clear." Flash stuttered.

"Good. Now get outta here." Happy commanded with a jerk of his head.

Flash turned and fled like a dog with its tail between its legs. Peter couldn't keep the slight smirk off his face at the sight.

"You sure you're ok?" Happy asked as he turned back to look him up and down. He carefully dusted some dirt off his shoulder, causing Peter to sober.

"Yeah. Thanks Happy." Peter answered softly.

"Who was that asshole?" Happy frowned as he glanced back to Flash's retreating form.

"Just a jerk in my class." Peter shrugged and started walking toward the Rolls Royce Happy had driven.

"Hey." Happy gripped his upper arm and tried to turn him back around, but Peter jerked out of his grasp and kept up his brisk pace toward the car.

"Peter." Happy chided at the uncharacteristic behavior.

"Hey come here." Happy made a grab for him again when he was a few steps away from the passenger side door. He allowed it with a heavy sigh.

"What?" Peter asked defensively as he crossed his arms but didn't shrug out of Happy's grip.

"Don't 'what' me." Happy frowned down at him. Peter stayed silent.

Happy pulled his sunglasses off and looked him seriously in the eyes. "Does that kid give you a hard time like that a lot?"

"No not really. I mean yeah he's always been an asshole to me but he usually doesn't do stuff like _that_."

"But he's picked on you before?"

"Can we just go now? Please?" Peter tried to pull away but Happy held firm.

"How long has this been going on?"

"It's really nothing. He's just a harmless bully."

"From where I was standing it didn't look harmless. Looked like you were about to beat the crap out of each other."

"He wouldn't have been able to hurt me."

"He almost hurt you on those steps. It was a good thing you were almost at the bottom."

"You saw that?" Peter winced. That was embarrassing.

"Of course I did. Why else do you think I came over? I wasn't about to let that little shit get away with that."

"Thanks." Peter looked down at his shoes in shame. "And I…I'm sorry you had to deal with that."

"Hey." Happy nudged his chin up. "Don't apologize. That's what I'm here for."

Peter glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot before he asked jokingly, "What? Protecting superheroes?"

"Yep. That's literally part of my job description."

"No it's not." Peter laughed.

"It is. Ask your dad." Happy gave him a smile before he turned serious again. "So I want you to tell me if this kid messes with you again, ok?"

"I don't think he will." Peter said with a little shake of his head.

Happy continued to stare at him. That obviously wasn't the response he wanted.

"Fine. I'll tell you. Now can we go?" Peter tried to keep the desperate edge out of his voice. He really didn't want to talk about Flash. He just wanted to go home so he could go be Spiderman.

"Sure, but I'm telling your dad about this." Happy guided him the rest of the way to the car.

"No please don't Happy. _Please_. I have it handled and he'll just get all…" Peter waved his hand in the air. "Well you know how he gets."

"I do." Happy gave him a half smile as he pulled the car door open so Peter could crawl in. "Sorry kid but I have to. He's the one who pays me."

This better not keep him out of superheroing tonight. He knew his dad was looking for any excuse. Peter sighed and threw his head back against the headrest. Happy closed the door with a chuckle at the dramatics.

Peter spent the ride back to the Tower staring out the window and giving Happy the cold shoulder.

"You know you pout like your dad." Happy accused as they pulled into the Tower's garage and parked.

Peter didn't respond. He yanked his car door open angrily and trudged to the elevator. Usually Happy just dropped him off, but this time he followed right behind. The silent elevator ride was stifling. When they finally arrived at the penthouse floor, Peter couldn't keep it in anymore.

"You know you could be on my side just this once." Peter accused as the elevator door opened and he stepped out, distancing himself from Happy.

"I'm always on your side kid." Happy argued and Peter purposefully ignored the slight hurt in the tone.

"What's going on?" Tony appeared from the kitchen with a coffee mug in his hand and a concerned frown on his face. Great. Peter had hoped he wouldn't be home yet.

"Are you two— Is that blood?" Tony asked harshly.

"Where?" Peter looked down at himself as Tony set his mug down and hurried over.

His dad grabbed his right arm and only then did Peter notice the smudge of blood on his sleeve. Huh. That didn't make sense. He'd landed on his left side. Tony pulled his sweatshirt sleeve up to reveal the unscathed skin below.

"Where is this from Peter?" Tony asked seriously as he tugged on the bloody stain.

"Um…" He frowned, trying to figure it out. Happy stepped forward and grabbed his wrists turning both his palms up to reveal that his left one was a dirty bloody mess. Oh yeah. He'd landed on the concrete on his left hand. But it didn't hurt.

"How'd you do this?" Tony asked as he took Peter's wrist himself and pulled him to the kitchen sink to run it under warm water.

"He fell down the stairs outside his school." Happy answered for him.

"How?" Tony frowned. No doubt thinking his powers should've prevented something like that. He was right.

"He had help." Happy said suggestively.

" _What_?" Tony's voice turned icy and he snapped his attention to Peter's face. "Someone pushed you down the stairs?"

"Kind of. I guess. He's always been a jerk but apparently he felt like being particularly dickish today."

"I had to separate the two of them before they could get into it with each other." Happy continued and Peter wanted to sink through the floor. He wasn't sure if the disappointment that replaced the anger on his dad's face was better or worse.

"You almost got in a fight with this kid?" Tony asked.

"No." Peter denied and Happy scoffed.

Tony raised his eyebrows at him and waited.

"Yes." Peter sighed quietly and looked away. "But he would've deserved it."

" _Peter_."

"It's not like I would've actually hurt him…much." Peter tried to defend himself.

Tony sighed heavily as he turned off the water and grabbed a clean white dishtowel from the drawer.

"Wait you're going to ruin it." Peter argued, but Tony ignored him as he wrapped Peter's bloody palm with it.

"I don't care about the stupid towel." Tony explained. He kept a hold on Peter's wrist and walked him to the couch. Peter sat down and chewed on his lip when his dad sat across from him on the coffee table.

"Here boss." Happy handed Tony a first aid kit. Where did that come from? Peter didn't even know they had one. And how did Happy know where it was? "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Thanks Happy." Tony said as he gave the man an appreciative nod before turning his attention back to the first aid kit in his hand. He set it on the coffee table next to him, opened it and pulled out the rubbing alcohol, some cotton balls, and gauze.

"You know you really don't need to do this. It'll be completely healed by tomorrow anyway." Peter protested as his dad unwrapped the towel from his hand and examined the wound that still oozed blood.

"Hold still." Tony ignored Peter's words as he started dabbing alcohol-doused cotton balls over his cuts. Peter refused to wince even though it stung like crazy.

"I still get to go out as Spiderman tonight, right?" Peter couldn't keep the question in.

Tony just arched an eyebrow at him and went back to cleaning his palm.

"Please? This is nothing and it's been _months_."

Tony didn't respond. He just set the alcohol and cotton balls down and started wrapping Peter's hand in gauze.

"How's that feel?" Tony asked once he was done.

"Fine." Peter answered then turned his best puppy dog eyes onto Tony. "So, can I still go out? Please? Can I? Come on dad. _Please_?"

Tony huffed a laugh at the begging.

"Don't think I haven't caught onto the fact that you only call me dad when you want something." Tony said and then gave him a playful tap on the nose with his finger before he stood and gathered the first aid kit.

"That's not true." Peter's brow furrowed. At least he didn't think it was true. Was it? If it was, he didn't mean to.

"Mmhm." Tony hummed skeptically. Peter watched as he took the first aid kit back out to the kitchen and put it away. So the first aid kit lived in the kitchen? That seemed like an odd choice of location.

"Is that a yes? _Dad_?"

Tony laughed outright at that.

"Yes. Fine. You can still do the Spiderman thing tonight. I don't think I'd survive the whining if I said no."

"Yes!"

"But," Tony pointed a finger toward him. "No fighting at school and I want you to tell me if this kid keeps messing with you."

"Ok fine, but Happy already made me promise the same thing to him."

"That's because he's a smart man." Tony smiled. "But don't tell him I said that. It'll go to his head."

"So can I go now?" Peter jumped up from the couch.

"Don't you want to wait until after dinner?"

"No I'll just grab a sandwich or something."

Tony frowned.

"Or I can come back for dinner?" Peter offered weakly.

"No go ahead, but just so you know skipping dinner with me to do the vigilante thing isn't going to become a routine."

Peter rolled his eyes and sprinted to his room to get his suit on.

When he came back out suited up with his mask in hand, he frowned at the sight of Tony in his Ironman suit in the living room.

"Um…are you coming with me?" He asked. Not like that wouldn't be awesome to team up with Ironman but it'd been so long since Peter had gone out as Spiderman that he kind of wanted to go solo his first night back.

"No. I'm spotting you. Remember?" Tony indicated the balcony.

"Oh my god." Peter complained with an eye roll.

"Ready?"

Peter nodded and put the mask on.

"I want you home by 11pm."

"What?" Peter pulled the mask back up and shot Tony a surprised look. "It's Friday night. It's not like I have to wake up for anything."

"Well I still have to get up tomorrow morning."

"So? It's not like you have to wait up for me."

"You're kidding right?"

"No." May had never waited up for him.

"I stay out until three all the time when it's busy." Peter tested. "I don't want you to have to stay up that late."

Tony shot him a calculating gaze, obviously recognizing the challenge in the statement. "Well I won't be because there's no way I'm letting you stay out until _three in the morning_. And I'm serious. I want you home by 11pm tonight or no Spiderman for a week."

"Superheroes don't have bedtimes." Peter complained as he shoved his mask back down and walked out on the balcony.

"Well this one does." Tony stated as he followed him.

"Can we just finish arguing about this later?" Peter whined as he hopped effortlessly up onto the balcony railing, balancing on the balls of his feet. Tony was being a huge buzzkill right now. At the moment, he just wanted to savor the feeling of being Spiderman again.

"We can talk about it but I'm not going to change my mind." Tony said as he closed the faceplate and took off, stopping to hover a few feet in the air in front of Peter.

Peter looked down. Wow this really was high up. Avengers tower was one of the tallest buildings if not the tallest building in New York and as cool as it was, Peter was now realizing the problem this posed.

"What are you doing Underoos?" Tony's voice came out tinny from the Ironman mask. He sounded genuinely curious.

"Math." He answered honestly. If he jumped off from here he was going to have to free fall at least fifty stories before he'd be even with the next highest building near the tower to web onto it. The amount of force that would generate would test even his physical boundaries. Plus even if he managed it, he couldn't see a clear next building to swing to next without slamming into something. He glanced around for any other viable options but couldn't find any. Damn.

"I can't jump off from here." Peter realized with disappointment. "It's too high."

Ironman spun around, likely coming to the same conclusion. Peter briefly wondered if Tony had already realized this a month ago and that's why he'd been so adamant about spotting him.

"Unless…" Peter chewed on his lip under the mask as he tried to figure out a different strategy. Even though he couldn't see it from here, he knew there was a taller building on the other side of the tower by the landing pad for the Quinjet.

"I have an idea. Meet me on the landing pad." He said as he dashed back into the tower and into the elevator, asking FRIDAY to take him to the right floor.

He sprinted out of the elevator onto the landing pad. Tony had beaten him there. Peter ran to the edge and looked down. The building next to the landing pad was only a thirty story fall and the buildings surrounding it were much taller as well. He planned out his technique. If he could web the underside of the landing pad at the right time and at the perfect angle he could make it to the roof of the nearby building.

"Ready?" Peter glanced up at his dad. He knew he'd joked about not needing help jumping off before, but he had to admit that he probably wouldn't even think of trying this without back up. Sure, he was confident that no matter where he jumped from the tower he could probably manage not to die, but he doubted he could avoid serious injury.

"Ready." Tony answered.

 _Ok. I got this._ Peter thought to himself as he took a running start and leapt off the side of the landing pad at an angle. He twisted in midair and stayed in free fall for a few long seconds before shooting a web at the underside of the landing pad. It tightened and swung him in an arc toward the nearby building. He realized a second later that he was going to overshoot. The roof of the building flew under him but he was still too high and going too fast to drop down onto it. He passed it and the arc of his web brought him back up into the air even higher before it disengaged over empty air.

"Oh shit!" He swore and flailed frantically as he tried to figure out a back up strategy while he started to free fall, but he was still too high. He was going to have to fall quite a ways before he could web onto the next building and then at the angle he was at he'd still end up slamming into it pretty hard.

But instead of having to resort to that, metal arms carefully caught him under his knees and back.

"I gotcha." His dad said as he slowed their descent to a stop and then took off back toward the landing pad of the tower. Peter couldn't believe he'd forgotten that Tony was spotting him in his moment of panic.

"You have to work on that math huh?" Tony joked as he deposited Peter back on the landing pad and flipped his helmet off. Even though he tried to come off as lighthearted, Peter could see the tension in his eyes.

"I didn't fall far enough so I overshot."

"You didn't clear the landing pad far enough either." Tony added helpfully, now that he knew what Peter was trying to do.

"I know." Peter nodded. "Can I try it again? I think I can get it this time."

"Sure why not try to shave even more years off my life?" Tony said sarcastically before the helmet closed and he hovered in wait.

This time Peter started from the completely opposite end of the landing pad and really sprung his legs off the edge when he jumped. He waited an extra couple seconds before webbing the bottom of the landing pad. This time his feet got within five feet of the roof at the bottom of his arc. As he started to swing back up he disengaged from the web and landed with a back flip.

"Ha! Stuck the landing!" He celebrated as Tony landed next to him.

"Nice job." Tony complimented before he retracted the helmet and looked seriously at him. "But you're not allowed to do that without me watching. At least for now."

"I know. I wouldn't. Don't worry." Peter agreed wholeheartedly. He wasn't confident he could duplicate that jump perfectly every time yet. Once he was, he'd argue it.

"All right. You good from here?" Tony asked. They weren't so high anymore. Peter walked to the ledge of the building.

"Yeah I'm good." Peter said as he glanced around. The buildings lined up perfectly for webbing now. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Tony gave him a smile before raising a gloved finger at him in command. "Be careful."

"I will."

"And be home by 11pm."

"Yeah yeah." Peter huffed as he backed up from the ledge to get ready for a running start.

"I gotta go! I have the world to save and all. Or well Queens at least." Peter joked and then took off in a sprint and jumped. He webbed onto the next building and then the next. This was more like it. Man he loved this. It was going to be a great night.

* * *

"Tony, sit down. Before your pacing drives us all crazy." Natasha complained without looking away from the movie on the TV in front of her.

"Yeah what's up with you man?" Clint asked as he peered behind the couch to critically eye the genius.

"Peter went out as Spiderman." Bruce explained.

"Ah."

"Oh."

"That explains it then."

Tony stopped from where he was pacing behind the common room couch to glare at all of them.

"I admit you're handling it surprising well in that case." Natasha said to Tony.

"Is he though?" Sam joked.

"He's not secretly watching the kid's every move like I'm pretty sure he could, so I have to agree with Nat." Clint smirked.

"True." Sam agreed.

"I hate you all." Tony scowled. He had thought about watching the suit's baby monitor in real time but realized that would probably be even worse for his stress levels.

"Are you ok Tony?" Steve asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? Peter's out all alone fighting crime but it's fine. It'll be fine. He'll be fine." Tony couldn't keep the assertion from coming out almost manically.

"Wow." Scott blinked.

"That's a lot of fines for one sentence." Rhodey cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah you don't really seem fine." Wanda added when Tony huffed and went back to pacing.

"Well I would be if Bruce hadn't told my son it was ok for him to go back out as a vigilante." Tony accused.

"Hey! I refuse to take responsibility for this. I just cleared him medically." Bruce defended.

"You could've dragged your feet a little more!" His anxiety seemed to have found an outlet in his frustration with Bruce.

"I did!" Bruce argued back. "You and I both know I could've cleared him two weeks ago but I stretched it out because you asked me to. Don't even make me get into how unethical that was, but that excuse couldn't last forever. I had to clear him. You know we can't keep him from being Spiderman."

The worst part was that he knew Bruce was right.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." Tony grumbled and then turned accusing eyes toward the rest of the team. "And I don't get how all of you can just sit here and watch this stupid movie. Am I really the only one bothered by this?"

"Of course not." Steve answered as the rest of the team chimed in with similar proclamations.

"Listen." Clint turned around to catch his eye. "We're all worried about the squirt, but it's not like we can do anything about it. You're the one that let him go out. We just have to trust that he can take care of himself."

"You're right." Tony nodded and the whole group seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before he continued. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have let him go."

"I do not believe that is what Clint meant." Vision spoke up as everyone groaned.

"Yeah that's definitely not what I meant." Clint agreed.

"No no no maybe you're right. I mean he's just a kid. A _kid_. And I let him go…I let him go out in spandex to fight bad guys. Where he could get hurt _._ Oh my god what kind of parent am I?" He pulled at his hair with both hands and knew he probably looked a little crazy but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Sooo Stark's freaking out." Scott observed and Tony kind of wanted to hit him.

"Oh please. We all know that suit is not made of spandex." Clint scoffed at the same time.

"Really? That's what you choose to fixate on?" Natasha shook her head as she flicked Clint's ear.

"Tony you know he'll be just fine." Rhodey reasoned.

"No I don't. I don't know that. You don't know that. What if something happens? He could get shot! And then he'd be lying helpless in an alley somewhere bleeding out." Oh god the vision of that alone nearly had him undone. He couldn't keep the quick panicked breaths from escaping him.

"That's…graphic." Sam deadpanned. The entire team looked a little sick at the description of Peter hurt.

"Tony." Steve sighed as he stood and walked over to him. "Let's…go for a walk."

The only reason he let Steve lead him into the elevator was because he was on the edge of completely falling apart, and he really didn't want the entire team to witness such an epic meltdown.

"I thought we were going for a walk." Tony protested when Steve asked FRIDAY to take them up to the penthouse.

"We did. We walked to the elevator." Steve tried to joke but Tony was too stressed to even crack a smile. "Do you really want to go for a walk right now?"

"No." Tony admitted.

"Yeah I didn't think so." Steve said. The elevator deposited them on Tony's floor and Steve guided him to the couch.

"Let's just sit." Steve said as they both took a seat on the couch. "And talk."

Tony couldn't stop his nervous fidgeting.

"And try to calm down." Steve reached out to grab Tony's twitching hands, where they'd been tapping manically on his thighs. Once they stilled he slowly pulled away, leaving Tony's now still hands settled on his legs.

Tony stared down at his hands for a few seconds before turning to stare out the window, ignoring Steve's concerned gaze. Where before he couldn't seem to stop talking, now it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do.

"Tony." Steve tried to get his attention back.

Steve sighed when he stubbornly refused to look back at the man.

"I know you're worried about him."

Tony stared out at all the twinkling lights from the buildings that made up the New York skyline. Peter was out there right now. Alone.

"You just have to remember that Peter's a smart kid. He can take care of himself and if he somehow gets in over his head I'm pretty sure you have a way of instantly knowing that."

"Yeah. I do." Tony puffed out a long breath before dropping his head into his hands. It was true. He had enough safety measures installed in the suit that he'd be alerted right away if something were wrong. "But what if something happens and I can't get to him in time?"

"As Ironman you can make it anywhere in the city within minutes right?" Steve asked.

Tony gave a shaky nod but didn't look up.

"You know how Peter's been training with me this summer?"

Tony just nodded again, not yet trusting his voice.

"Well I'm telling you Peter can hold his own for more than a few minutes if push comes to shove." Steve clapped a hand on his shoulder and let it rest there. "Ok?"

"Yeah. Ok."

"It's good that you're worried about him but just be careful not to smother him."

Tony looked up sharply to give Steve his most scathing look, which Captain Perfect had the gall to laugh at.

"All right. I'll try to stay out of it. You're the dad here." Steve patted him a couple more times on the shoulder before pulling away.

"Damn right."

"You feel better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Do you want to go back downstairs?"

"I don't want to deal with the entire peanut gallery right now. You go ahead." Tony said, but then frowned when Steve picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

"Ok. What do you say to finishing the new Star Wars movie with me?"

"You don't have to stay. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself."

"I want to stay." Steve said as if that was obvious but then seemed to second guess himself. "If that's ok?"

Tony eyed Steve for a couple seconds, but when he didn't see any pity there, he gave a half shrug. "Sure whatever you want. Mi casa es su casa."

"Ok. So…Star Wars?" Steve asked with a quirk of his lip.

"Yeah which one?"

"Um Clint said it's the new one that's like a prequel to the old ones but without any Jedi in it?"

"Must be Rogue One. I haven't seen it yet either. FRIDAY play it."

"Yes boss."

Turns out it took having his own kid for Tony to realize how many not so subtextual daddy issues existed in Star Wars. Maybe not the best choice for his current state of mind.

"What the fuck? The Mom dies. Then the father figure mentor dies? Then the dad dies. And then _they all die_?" Tony sputtered as he watched the two main characters get engulfed on the beach. "Isn't this a Disney movie?"

"At least they succeeded in their mission?" Steve offered faintly.

Tony threw a handful of popcorn at him.

"Sorry." At least Steve had the decency to look ashamed.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to post! I hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

_How much longer kid? I'm going to turn into a pumpkin._

 _Sorry Happy. Hopefully done soon._ Peter texted back.

"Parker get your head out of the clouds."

"Huh?" Peter glanced up from his phone just in time for a rubber eraser to smack him right between the eyes.

"Dude." Ned laughed in surprise. Peter could just imagine the crap he was going to get from Ned later for not dodging it.

"Ow." He complained as he shot an annoyed glance at MJ across the table. She just rolled her eyes at him. Of course. Such a completely normal human response to hitting someone else with a projectile.

"Answer the question." She deadpanned.

"What was it again?" Another eye roll. Peter was surprised Flash hadn't made some sarcastic comment yet, but ever since Happy had threatened him last week he'd completely stopped harassing Peter. Peter didn't hold out much hope the new behavior was actually going to last.

"Who introduced the theory of punctuated equilibrium?" MJ read the question from the card in front of her.

"Gould and Eldredge." Peter answered before she could read the answer choices.

MJ gave a small nod and then flipped to another card.

"Eugene." She addressed Flash, and Peter had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

"I told you not to call me that." Flash snapped.

"In the Lewis dot structure of a nitrogen atom, how many dots should there be around the N?"

"Five." Flash answered.

MJ gave another nod.

"That question was easy." Ned mumbled in Peter's ear. It had been. Peter nodded in agreement and glanced back down at his phone. No more texts yet. Hopefully they'd be finished soon. He started bouncing his leg under the table with impatience.

"Can we be done now? We've been at this for hours. Even Parker can't pay attention anymore." Flash whined.

MJ's eyes swept across the table, taking in everyone's expressions without comment. Peter knew they all looked exhausted. Sometimes MJ seemed to forget they weren't all robots.

"Fine."

Sighs and groans of relief echoed around the table.

"Thank god! I'm out losers." Flash pushed away from the table and practically sprinted out of the room.

"Drama queen." Ned muttered under his breath.

MJ snorted from where she stood gathering her books and notecards.

"Have a good weekend MJ." Peter said as he and Ned started walking out.

"You too Parker. Make sure your driver takes you somewhere nice." MJ said with sardonic twist of her lips.

"Wait. What? I don't— What do you— How did you—"

"Don't hurt yourself." MJ raised an eyebrow and patted him on the shoulder as she brushed past him and Ned in the doorway on her way out.

Peter gaped as MJ disappeared.

"You know, sometimes she's absolutely terrifying." Ned broke the stunned silence.

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "Wait you don't think she actually knows anything do you?"

"About Mr. Stark being your uh your—"

"Shh don't _say_ it!" Peter glanced around. Luckily the hallway was deserted.

"Or about your um side job?"

"Either Ned. Either would be very bad!"

"Um…no?

"She couldn't…right? I mean how could she know? There's no way she could actually know." Peter babbled.

"Right." Ned agreed unconvincingly.

"Shit."

"It's not really worth worrying about dude. I mean it's MJ. She's probably just messing with you. And even if she does know something there's nothing you can do about it anyway so…" Ned shrugged.

Peter let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah you're right."

"Don't stress about it." Ned patted him on the back. "Don't give her the satisfaction."

Peter nodded.

"You're still coming over tomorrow right?" Ned asked as they walked out of school.

"Yep."

"Great. Text me when you're on your way over." Ned said as they parted ways at the bottom of their school's stairs.

"I will. See you tomorrow."

"See ya." Ned waved over his shoulder.

Peter hurried over to where Happy was waiting in the car.

"Sorry Happy." He apologized as he climbed in the backseat and buckled up. Practice had run 45 minutes longer than planned.

"Yeah yeah. I'm sure you are." Happy said sarcastically as they drove away. "Making me wait. I swear you turn more and more into Tony everyday."

Peter couldn't help the smile that lit up his face.

Happy caught his expression in the rearview mirror. "That wasn't a compliment."

"Yes it was." Peter snarked back.

Happy just snorted.

"So how was school today?" Happy asked after a couple minutes of companionable silence. The man asked some variation of that question every time he picked him up now. The first few times he'd inquired about Peter's day, Peter had thought he'd been making polite small talk, but after a couple weeks it seemed like he really was interested.

"It was fine." Peter answered as he stared out the window, still half worrying if MJ had figured anything out about his life and his secrets.

"Yeah? I saw that shit head kid come out a couple minutes before you. He's not giving you any trouble is he?"

"No." Flash had barely spoken to him since their altercation last week.

"You'd tell me if he was right?"

"Yes Happy." Peter agreed with a heavy sigh.

"Ok good. So how'd that test go today? Chemistry right?"

"Yeah. I nailed it." Peter let the slight pride he felt leak into his voice.

"That's great! See? I knew you would." Happy flashed a genuine smile at him.

"Thanks." Peter grinned back.

"You know what this calls for?"

"What?"

"Ice cream."

 _'How about this? How about I run and get us some of your favorite ice cream at the drive thru at Mickey's and we spend the rest of the night talking just me and you?'_ May's voice echoed loudly in his ears as if she were sitting right next to him.

"Does that sound good?"

Peter's mind involuntarily flashed back in vivid detail to the night May had left him.

 _'Do you want to come with me?'_ She'd been wearing a blue sweater. Her hair had been pulled back.

"Kid?"

 _'I love you sweetie.'_ She'd smiled warmly at him. He remembered feeling reassured by her words and her smile, thinking everything would be all right. God how wrong he'd been.

"Kid you ok?"

 _'I'll be right back.'_ The last thing she'd ever said to him.

"Kid!"

"What?" Peter asked quietly as he tore his blank gaze from the window to meet Happy's worried eyes.

"Hey you ok?"

"Um. Yeah." Peter swallowed hard and closed his eyes briefly, trying to focus again on the here and now.

"Really? Cause you seemed like you were miles away just now." Happy noted skeptically.

"I just…" He automatically started to make up an excuse but came up with nothing. His mind was completely blank and full of May all at the same time. He felt like he was going to be sick. It'd been awhile since he'd felt this way and the sudden flood of emotions had completely blindsided him. Part of him wanted to give in and let himself fall apart but the more reasonable part of him knew he couldn't do that in front of Happy.

"I just remembered I forgot something at school." Peter managed to steel himself to lie believably.

"Do you need me to turn around?" Happy offered immediately. "It must be pretty important."

"No. It's fine. It's just a worksheet. I can make a copy of Ned's tomorrow. Sorry. I-I don't know why I freaked out about it. It was stupid." Peter tried hard to keep his voice from trembling even as he utterly failed to keep his hands from doing the same. He clasped them together tightly in his lap and tried to take slow even breaths.

"All right. If you're sure."

Peter nodded.

"So ice cream?"

"That's really nice, but actually I don't um eat ice cream." Peter fumbled through the sentence.

"Ah that sucks kid. Lactose intolerant huh?"

Peter didn't say anything to contradict Happy's assumption.

Happy continued, "Well hey I know this French bakery nearby that makes the best macaroons on earth. You can eat those right?"

"Yeah."

"So we'll have some celebratory macaroons instead. You deserve it."

"Thanks Happy." Peter forced a smile but if felt brittle on his face. He didn't feel like he deserved anything nice right now.

Happy seemed to sense that something wasn't quite right but instead of pushing him to talk about it, he tried to lighten the mood by telling a few funny stories about Tony. Surprisingly, it worked. By the time they'd finished eating their macaroons at the patisserie, Peter's smile was real again.

* * *

"Hey Tony I'm home!" Peter announced as he dropped his backpack on the kitchen counter.

"Mr. Stark is not currently in the Tower." FRIDAY immediately informed him. Huh. He couldn't remember Tony telling him he wouldn't be around for dinner but maybe he'd missed a text.

He was in the middle of pulling out his phone from his pocket when a voice interrupted. "You must be Peter."

Peter spun around and instantly recognized the strawberry blonde woman walking toward him.

"I'm Pepper." She held her hand out to introduce herself.

"I-I know who you are. I'm uh I'm Peter. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Potts." He took her hand, being careful not to grip too hard as he shook it.

"Oh none of that." Pepper waved away the formality of the greeting and gave him a soft smile. "Please Peter call me Pepper."

A tongue twister from his childhood immediately sprung to mind at that sentence. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers… Nervous energy always did weird things to his thoughts.

"Ok um Pepper. It really is great to finally meet you." He responded, trying to ignore the rhyme currently running through his mind. What the hell was wrong with him today?

"I can't believe we haven't met before now. If I didn't know any better I'd think Tony was trying to hide you from me." Pepper smiled serenely at him.

"No I'm sure that's not— I mean I don't think he—"

Pepper's warm laugh interrupted him. He blinked in surprise.

"Oh I'm sorry Peter. I was just kidding. I know he wasn't keeping you away on purpose." Her hand landed softly on his shoulder for a couple seconds in reassurance before she pulled away so she could brush back a piece of hair that had fallen into her eyes.

"Actually I've been in California for the past month and I just got back. Tony was supposed to meet me here but apparently he's late as usual." Peter's mind flashed back to Happy's comparison of the two of them after Peter had left him waiting.

"Have you been waiting long?" Peter winced on Tony's behalf.

"Oh no. I walked in a minute before you did."

"That's good. Um can I get you something to drink?" Peter offered.

Pepper gave him an amused smile. "Well aren't you polite? It's good to see Tony hasn't corrupted you yet."

"Not for lack of trying." Peter joked.

"Oh I can imagine." Pepper agreed before she answered. "I already helped myself to some water, so I'm ok. But thank you for the offer."

"You're welcome."

The smile hadn't left Pepper's face since they'd started talking.

"I don't suppose you know where Tony might be?" Pepper asked. "I was just about to call him."

"No I thought he'd be here." Peter answered. "Hey FRIDAY, do you know where Tony is?"

"The Avengers received a call to assemble ten minutes before you arrived. They are currently en route to Boston. Mr. Stark is with them." FRIDAY answered.

Pepper sighed next to him. When he looked over at her, he frowned. Pepper's smile was gone.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Pepper asked.

"The estimated time to mission completion is three hours based on the severity of the threat."

"Wonderful." Pepper muttered.

"Do you know what the threat is?" Peter asked, heart clenching with anxiety like it always did whenever Tony went out on an Avengers mission.

"I'm sorry Peter but that information is classified." FRIDAY answered.

"Of course it is." Peter said sarcastically.

"Would you like me to call Mr. Stark for you?" FRIDAY suggested.

"No that's ok. Thanks FRIDAY."

"You're welcome Peter."

"Well I guess that's that." Peter said. "Sorry Pepper."

"It's not your fault." Pepper frowned at him.

Peter shrugged and walked to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "I'll tell Tony you stopped by."

When he turned back around he caught Pepper studying him with an indecipherable look on her face. He uncapped the water and took a few sips but Pepper didn't make any move to leave or to stop staring at him.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"Do you have any dinner plans?" She asked. That definitely wasn't what he'd been expecting.

"No?" The question in his answer brought a small smile back to her face.

"You do now." She said confidently and strode toward him, taking him by the shoulder and leading him toward the elevator. "I'm taking you out."

"Really? You don't have to." He hoped this wasn't just because she felt sorry for him.

"I want to." She reassured instantly.

"Oh." Peter beamed. "Ok. Thanks."

* * *

"He did not!" Peter burst out laughing.

"He did!" Pepper insisted around her own laughter.

"No way. I can't believe he got you a giant bunny for Christmas."

"Yeah well that's Tony for you." Pepper smirked.

"He got me a car for my birthday. Definitely no stuffed animals." Peter fake bragged.

"You think you're safe now, but just wait until Christmas." Pepper teased back.

"I'll be sure to manage my expectations." Peter's heart warmed at the sound of Pepper's laugh. It was enchanting. Just like Pepper herself. He couldn't understand how Tony could've ever let her go. She was wonderful and about as close to perfect as Peter could imagine anyone being. Talking to her was as easy as breathing. She had charm and poise along with a delightful sense of humor and razor sharp wit. He could see why she was the CEO of Stark Industries. Regardless of the naysayers, Tony had been a genius for picking her.

And there was just something about Pepper's presence that was warm and calming. She was so unassuming. Peter was usually pretty closed off with new people but he found himself answering her questions unfiltered. Maybe it was because he knew how unerringly loyal Pepper was to his dad so he knew she would never do anything to hurt him. Or maybe she was just someone that inspired trust in others. May had been like that. Actually, Pepper and May had a lot of similarities. Maybe that was it. Pepper reminded him of May in all the best ways. He slammed the door on that thought immediately.

"Peter?"

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Peter realized he'd missed something.

"It's not important." Pepper said with furrow or her brow. "You look like you have something else on your mind."

"I was just thinking about Tony. Sometimes I worry when he's out with the team." Which wasn't exactly a lie. He did worry, but that worry wasn't what had been occupying his mind a few seconds ago.

"I know what that's like." Pepper held his gaze. "I worry too."

Peter nodded. Of course she did.

She reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "But I'm sure Tony will be just fine."

"Yeah I know. It's just…sometimes I get nervous because I feel like the whole world is conspiring against me and…I don't want it to take Tony too." Peter felt his eyes prickle at the honest admission and quickly glanced away.

"I can understand why you'd feel that way after everything you've gone through." Peter knew if he tried to meet her eyes right now he'd lose the small thread of control he had on his emotions.

"Yeah." He mumbled as he stared at the aquarium across the room instead. A long minute passed before he managed to meet Pepper's eyes again.

"Sorry." He apologized, glad to see she looked concerned instead of pitying.

"It's ok." She squeezed the hand she still held again before letting go and leaning back in her chair.

"It's just been kind of a long day."

Pepper nodded sagely. He was sure she could sympathize.

"I know we just met, but I want you to know that if you ever want to talk, I'm here." Pepper offered kindly.

 _'But this means you talk to me. Really talk to me for once. Deal?'_ May's voice sprung to the forefront of his mind again and he couldn't hold back a slightly ragged inhale.

"Are you okay Peter?" Pepper frowned.

 _'Are you ok honey?'_

"Yeah. Just…t-thanks Pepper. Really. That…that means a lot." He forced out a response. God what was wrong with him today? He'd already almost had a breakdown in front of Happy. He really didn't want to seem crazy in front of his dad's ex-girlfriend and CEO of his company too.

"What do you say we get out of here?" Pepper suggested as she stood.

"Sounds good." Peter followed her out. The sushi at the restaurant had been superb and talking with Pepper had been great. It'd been a perfect evening until Peter had messed up at the end.

They chitchatted innocuously on the car ride back to the Tower.

"Have you given any thought to changing your name?" Pepper asked curiously when they were a couple minutes from the Tower. Clint had bought a puppy for his son and Peter had been telling Pepper about all the arguing that went into deciding possible names for it, and somehow that had turned into a philosophical discussion about people's names and that had flowed into Pepper's current question.

"Changing my name?" For a second Peter didn't get it.

"To Stark?" Pepper smiled at his confusion.

"Oh." For such an innocent question, Peter suddenly felt like he'd been blindsided. "No. I mean I haven't really thought about it. Tony hasn't said anything."

"He probably doesn't want you to feel pressured."

"Yeah." Peter mumbled. Should he change his name? How had he never thought of this before? But he'd been Peter Parker all his life. He was kind of attached to it. It was his _name_. Wouldn't it be weird to change it now? To Peter Stark? Peter Benjamin Stark? Or would it be Peter Parker Stark? Or Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark? Hyphenating seemed all wrong but so did getting rid of his middle name. It was Ben's name after all. But deleting Parker felt like a betrayal to his parents _and_ his aunt and uncle. God. He rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"I'm sure Tony won't care if you want to keep your name." Pepper said. "But changing it would make it easier in the long run business-wise. Just something to keep in mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Well as the heir to Stark Industries, not having the last name of Stark might make things a little…stickier…later, but it's nothing that can't be dealt with. And I'm not trying to pressure you at all either. I just want you to have the facts." Pepper stated.

"What? But I'm not…" Peter frowned. "I'm not the heir to Stark Industries."

"Peter, Tony adopted you. You're his son. That makes you his heir, which includes SI." Pepper explained gently.

"But what about you? You're the CEO!" Peter protested.

"I don't own the company. I just run it. I know you know this. Tony brags constantly about how smart you are." Pepper said, seemingly more amused now.

Peter blushed at the thought of Tony bragging about him to Pepper.

"Tony's never mentioned anything about it before." Peter mumbled.

"Hmm maybe you should talk to him." Pepper suggested as they pulled into the Tower's parking garage.

"Maybe." Peter hedged. Honestly that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He really just wanted to crawl under the covers and hit reset on this day.

"Speaking of Tony, have you heard from him?" Peter asked.

"Not recently." Peter said as he checked his phone. Tony had texted right before he'd left for dinner with Pepper to let him know that he was on a mission, but it'd been radio silence since then. "I'll find out if he's home."

 _Hey are you home yet?_ Peter texted.

 _No, but shouldn't you know that?_ Came the instant reply. Well the battle or whatever must be over if Tony was able to respond so quickly.

"He's not home yet." Peter said as he unbuckled and turned to say good-bye and thank Pepper for dinner, but he found her in the middle of unbuckling her seatbelt as well.

She caught his confused look and explained. "I'll come up and keep you company until he gets home."

"You really don't have to." Peter said even as a sense of gratefulness burst through him.

"I want to. I'm having fun. Aren't you having fun?"

"Well yeah but—"

"That's settled then." She interrupted and he hurried to catch up as she crossed the garage to the elevator, the click of her heels on the floor already turning into a familiar sound.

His phone buzzed repeatedly in his hand as they got in the elevator.

 _Are you not at home?_

 _Happy said he dropped you off._

 _Where are you?_

 _Peter?_

"Aren't you popular." Pepper joked.

"It's just Tony." Peter explained as he typed back. _I'm just getting home now. When will you be home?_

 _Within an hour or two depending on how long winded Cap gets in the debrief. Where were you?_

 _I went out to dinner._

 _With who? Ned?_

The elevator deposited them on the penthouse floor and they headed for the living room.

"You can put on whatever you want." Peter offered Pepper the remote and then curled up on the couch.

 _No. Pepper took me out._ Peter replied as he watched Pepper settle into the other couch and start channel surfing. He wished he could be there to see the expression on his dad's face.

A minute later Pepper's phone rang.

"Hi Tony." She answered dryly and Peter snorted. "Yes I did. Uh huh. Sushi. Yeah he really is. I did. I think so. Do you want me to ask him? He's sitting right here. Yeah. We're watching a movie. Yes I can. It's no trouble. Yes he is. I know. I'll tell him. We'll see you when you get home. Ok. Bye."

"I'm supposed to tell you to get ready for bed, but you can stay up until he gets home since it's not a school night." She informed him as soon as she hung up.

Peter groaned in embarrassment, but after a few long seconds he got up to do as instructed. By the time he came back, Pepper had stopped on a channel playing the movie Caddyshack. Pepper even had good taste in movies.

"Wanna make bets on when he'll actually get home?" Peter asked as he lay back down on the couch.

"Hmm well he told me an hour, so knowing Tony I'm going to say two." Pepper proposed.

"I say an hour and a half." Peter said.

"We'll see." Pepper said and turned her attention back to the movie.

Peter made it through the first hour before his eyelids started to feel heavy. He glanced over at Pepper. She was tapping away at something on her phone while still glancing at the TV every so often. She didn't look tired at all. If the CEO of Stark Industries wasn't even tired why was Peter? He tried to stay awake, but he only made it a few more minutes before he gave up and let his eyes stay closed.

* * *

Peter awoke to soft voices and the feeling of being lifted into familiar arms. He recognized the warm fabric of the Ironman underarmor beneath his cheek. Tony must've just gotten back.

"Who won?" Peter mumbled into Tony's chest without opening his eyes.

"We did." Tony answered, probably assuming he was asking about the mission.

"No the bet." He tried to clarify.

"What bet?" Tony sounded amused.

"I won." Pepper replied as her perfumed hand flicked the hair off his forehead. Hmm she smelled nice. Like lilacs and sunshine.

"Figures." Peter muttered and relaxed back into that hazy place of sleep as Tony carried him to his room.

"How'd the mission go?" Peter asked as Tony laid him down in bed.

"It was fine. Bad guys easily defeated and all that jazz." Tony answered while he tucked the covers in around him.

"Everyone's ok?" Peter asked before he buried his face into his pillow. He figured Tony wasn't hurt if he was able to carry him to bed, but he still worried about the rest of the team.

"Everyone's fine. Go back to sleep." Tony kissed the top of his head. "We can talk in the morning. And believe me I'm going to want to hear all the details about your night with Pepper."

Peter hummed into his pillow. He was out again before Tony had even left the room.

* * *

A/N: It's great to be back. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

_'Well look at you.'_

 _Peter glanced away from the New York skyline he stood studying on the balcony. His mouth dropped open at the sight of the man that walked through the sliding glass doors behind him._

 _'Uncle Ben.' He whispered in shock._

 _'Good to see you do still remember me.' Sarcasm dripped from his voice._

 _'What are you talking about? Of course I remember you.' Peter protested._

 _'Could've fooled me.' Ben drolled. 'You sure didn't waste any time cozying up with Tony Stark._

 _'What?'_

 _'Your aunt was barely in the ground when you started calling this Stark guy your dad. Forget about those of us that actually raised you.'_

 _Peter felt like a knife had been driven straight into his heart._

 _'I-I didn't forget you.'_

 _'Yeah right. And now you're going to change your name? Completely erase us?'_

 _'I'm not.' Peter argued weakly._

 _'And after we gave everything for you.' Ben scoffed in anger. 'We'd still be alive right now if it wasn't for you. If we hadn't taken you in.'_

 _'I'm sorry.' Peter couldn't make his voice any louder than a whisper._

 _'You as good as killed us.'_

 _'I didn't mean to.' Tears spilled down his cheeks._

 _'And now you've traded up. The future heir of Stark Industries. Well good on you. Nice to see you profiting from our deaths.' Ben's face twisted in grief and anger._

 _'No! This is never what I wanted.' Peter sobbed as he reached out for Ben._

 _Ben slapped his hand away. 'Please. Like this isn't your dream come true. Getting to live with superheroes and Tony Stark adopting you. You always did idolize him. And now he's your new dad. Disgusting.'_

 _Ben turned to leave and Peter lunged forward to grab his arm and twist him back around._

 _'But it's not my dream. It's not! I miss you. I want_ you _. You and May! Please! You have to believe me. I'd give anything to have the two of you back!' Peter cried._

 _'Sure. And if we came back you'd what? You'd just turn your back on this new life of yours? On your new daddy?' Ben spat the words out nastily. Peter had no memory of Ben ever talking to him like this before._

 _'I don't… I don't know. I-I'd—' Peter stuttered at the challenge. Leave Tony? His stomach dropped to the floor at the thought. He loved May and Ben. He did. But he loved Tony too and he didn't want to leave him. He couldn't. Oh god maybe Ben was right._

 _'See?' Ben shook his head in revulsion. 'Well lucky for you there's no way to bring back the dead.'_

 _The lump in Peter's throat grew._

 _'See you around kid.' Ben said before he paused and his mouth warped into an ugly sardonic half smile. He snorted in amusement. 'Or actually…I guess I won't.'_

 _'I'm sorry Ben. Please I'm sorry. I love you. I love you!' He gasped out between his sobs as he threw himself at his uncle and wrapped his arms around him in a desperate hug. One that Ben didn't reciprocate._

 _'Good bye Peter.' Ben pried him off._

 _'No Ben. Don't go. Don't. Please.' Peter tried to reach out again but his hand passed through Ben as he faded away._

 _'Enjoy your new life.' Ben said, sounding truly sad now instead of angry._

 _'Ben.' Peter's voice cracked with the entreaty but his uncle was gone._

 _Peter fell to his hands and knees and sobbed._

He awoke whimpering into his pillow.

"Peter you seem to be in distress. Would you like me to notify Mr. Stark?" FRIDAY's inquiry helped center him.

"No FRIDAY. I just need a minute." His voice wavered. He sat up, and even though the dream had faded, the emotions remained.

"Understood. I will notify Mr. Stark in one minute."

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Peter sniffed as he quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Don't tell him. I'm fine."

FRIDAY didn't respond. Great. Who knew if she'd actually listen to him? Peter had no clue what kind of protocols Tony had in place. Maybe she was required to tell on him every time something like this happened. He really needed to do a little digging into the existing programming.

"I'm going to take a shower." Peter grumbled to her as he stumbled out of bed into the bathroom and locked the door. At least FRIDAY couldn't see him in here and even if FRIDAY did tell Tony, he knew the man wouldn't follow him in here. He turned on the shower, but instead of climbing in he sank down to the floor and cradled his head in his hands and cried. It'd been almost two years since Ben had died, but in this moment it hurt as much as if it had happened yesterday.

The things dream Ben had said kept replaying over and over in his mind. Where had that dream even come from? Was this all because Happy had asked him about ice cream yesterday and triggered all those thoughts about May? But it hadn't been May in the dream, it'd been Ben. Maybe it was because Pepper had brought up the whole name thing? Regardless of why, he sure felt like shit because of it. He felt sick and guilty and a maelstrom of all kinds of other emotions.

He finally managed to get himself under control enough to hop in the shower and let the spray wash the rest of the tears away. Afterwards, he dressed and packed an overnight bag, throwing his Spiderman suit in at the last minute. He slung it over his shoulder and walked out. Ned wouldn't be expecting him this early but he knew his friend wouldn't mind. He could definitely do with the distraction right now and every fiber of his being itched to escape.

"Hey Tony." Peter greeted as he brushed past the man seated with his back to him at the breakfast bar. "I'm heading out to Ned's. I'll be back sometime tomorrow."

"Hey hey hey hold up!" Tony's voice stopped him.

Peter sighed and turned around. "What?"

"Come sit down." Tony patted the stool next to him. "You can spare five minutes to eat breakfast with your old man before running out of here."

"I can't. I have to go." Peter said impatiently. The last thing he could handle right now was trying to act normal around Tony. Just seeing the man had sent a tidal wave of guilt crashing over him. Peter had begged Ben to come back. Had told him he'd wanted it more than anything. In that moment he'd forgotten all about Tony. How could he do that after everything Tony had done for him? His stomach churned.

"Hey!" Tony called out to him when he tried to turn around again. "Ned can wait a few minutes. Come _here_. I want to talk to you."

"I don't have time d-Tony. I really need to get to Ned's." He'd almost slipped and called him dad, but the thought of calling him dad right now felt too much like a betrayal to Ben. "We have this huge group project we haven't even started and it's due Monday and I'm really stressed about it. I don't think we're going to have enough time to get it done."

The lie flowed easily from his lips and he waited as Tony studied him. FRIDAY must not have told on him about his nightmare or Tony already would've called him out on it in the face of this behavior. Peter knew he was acting weird but he also knew Tony would find no evidence of his inner turmoil or any hint that he'd been crying on his face. He'd made sure to check in the mirror before leaving his room.

"Please. I have to go. We can talk tomorrow." Peter practically begged. Hopefully by then his emotions wouldn't be so close to the surface.

"Ok fine. You can go. But if you're in such a hurry at least let me drive you." Tony offered.

"No really it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Peter said as he quickly scampered into the elevator.

"Peter it's no trouble." Tony got up to follow and Peter caught his surprised expression when he realized the elevator doors were already almost completely closed. "Peter!"

But a second later the elevator was descending and Peter hoped it'd stay that way. He closed his eyes as he let his head fall back against the elevator wall. If Tony wanted, he could easily stop the elevator and make FRIDAY bring it back to the penthouse, but that didn't happen. When Peter reached the ground floor, he let out a sigh of relief and hurried out.

* * *

"Hey Ned?" Peter inquired as he and Ned mindlessly played Mariokart. They'd spent most of the morning and afternoon having a Star Wars movie marathon and after dinner they'd switched to video games. It'd helped distract him, but the thoughts and worries still intruded.

"Yeah?"

"What do you think Ben and May would think about all of this?"

"All of what? You being Spiderman? I thought May knew about that?" Ned asked, confused.

"No not the Spiderman thing. I mean the whole um Tony adopting me thing?" Peter kept his eyes glued to the screen as he clarified, not wanting Ned to figure out how important the question actually was to him.

Ned paused the game and turned to give Peter his full attention. Shit. He'd figured it out anyway.

"Tony adopted you over two months ago." Ned said carefully.

"I know." Peter ran a hand through his hair. "I just haven't really thought about what May and Ben would think before. And I don't know… Do you think they'd be mad?"

"Why would they be mad?" Ned asked as if Peter was crazy.

"I don't know. I just… I just feel like…" Peter frowned, struggling to find the right words while Ned waited patiently. "I feel like maybe I'm…I'm moving on too fast?"

Ned still seemed confused. "I don't understand."

"I mean May just…just died and I'm already calling Tony dad?"

"You call him dad?" Ned asked with surprise. Oh that's right. He hadn't told Ned about that.

"See? It's…it's wrong isn't it? I shouldn't… I shouldn't call him that."

"Peter." Now Ned sounded sad. "No. That's not what I meant. I don't think it's wrong. If you want to call Tony dad then you should do that."

Peter chewed his lower lip. "But I feel like I'm being disloyal or something."

Ned shook his head. "May and Ben are gone. You're not being disloyal to them by moving on with your life."

Peter stayed quiet.

"You're happy with Tony right?"

"Yeah he's great. That's not the problem." Peter fidgeted with the controller.

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is… The problem… It's…" Peter sighed. "What would I do if they came back? I'd have to choose between them. But how could I? May and Ben raised me. I'd-I'd have to… I'd have to go back to them. I'd have to leave Tony. But I-I wouldn't want to. It's so messed up."

"Peter." Ned said slowly, looking really concerned now. "May and Ben aren't coming back. They're dead."

"I know that." Peter snapped.

"Ok, so why are you torturing yourself over some theoretical decision you'll never actually have to make?"

"Because… I don't know. I guess because I'm feeling guilty?"

"Why?"

"Because…May and Ben are gone but instead of being some miserable orphan kid like I should be, I get to be Tony Stark's _son_? It's like I'm benefiting from their death. And the worst part of it is, I'm happy. And I shouldn't be. I should be sad. I should be sad all the time because they're gone, but I'm not. And that makes me a terrible person. I deserve to feel guilty."

"No you don't. And you're not a terrible person for being happy. May and Ben loved you. They'd want you to be happy. To live your life. You know that." Ned said with resolve.

"Yeah. Maybe you're right." Peter whispered even as doubt continued to pull at him.

"I know I'm right." Ned grinned. "And you know it too."

Peter gave him a ghost of a smile back.

"And as someone who's always right, I think this is something that you should talk to Tony about."

"Are you kidding? I can't talk to Tony about this!" The thought of Tony finding out how he was feeling sent a spike of fear through him.

"I think it would help." Ned suggested.

"No it wouldn't. It'd just make everything worse." Peter shook his head.

"Peter—"

"Besides, I don't need to talk to Tony." He interrupted Ned. "I just talked to you."

"Yeah but I don't think—"

"So what are you charging as your hourly rate nowadays?" Peter joked, suddenly desperate to change the subject.

"Peter." His friend chastised him, seeing right through him.

"Ned." Peter echoed back in a teasing tone. They stared each down for a few long seconds before Ned caved with a heavy sigh like Peter knew he would.

"You can pay me back by letting me kick your ass at Mariokart." Ned said with a smirk.

"Deal."

They played for another hour or so before Peter decided he'd definitely fulfilled his end of the bargain.

"All right. I'm done. I quit. My ego can't take it anymore." Peter laughed as he flopped backward onto the rug and set down the controller after Ned beat him for the umpteenth time.

"Hey boys. I just want to let you know we're going to bed." Ned's mom peaked her head in the open bedroom doorway. "Don't stay up too late."

"We won't Mom." Ned said.

"All right. Good night. I'll see you two in the morning."

"Night Mom."

"Good night Mrs. Leeds."

She smiled at them and left.

As Ned put the game console away, Peter listened carefully for Ned's parents bedroom door to close. Once it did, he nudged his friend with his foot.

"Hey. I think I'm going to head out on patrol if that's ok." The stress of the day had manifested itself in a restless energy he needed to get out. There was no way he could go to sleep right now.

"You brought the suit?" Ned's eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah. Hey actually do you think you can check some stuff out on it for me?"

"What kind of stuff?" Ned asked.

"Don't sound so suspicious." Peter teased as he dug through his duffel and pulled out the suit and handed it to Ned.

Ned took it carefully like it was something precious and breakable instead of a remarkably robust state of the art piece of equipment. "What do you want me to do?"

"Can you hack into it like you did in DC and see what kind of protocols Tony has on it?"

"Dude you want me to hack into something Tony Stark made?"

"You did it in DC." Peter prodded.

"Yeah and that was under protest too remember? And look what happened!" Ned complained.

"I'm not asking you to change anything. Just take a look and tell me what's there." Peter insisted.

Ned sighed. "Fine, but only because you're my best friend and you let me hang out with the Avengers."

He settled into his desk chair and hooked the suit up to his computer just like he'd done in DC.

After a few minutes of intensive typing Ned broke the silence. "Wow."

"What?" Peter got up to peer over Ned's shoulder at all the coding.

"There are _a lot_ of protocols here." Ned scanned the screen diligently.

"Are there any that alert Tony when I go out in the suit?"

"So that's what this is about huh?" Ned glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. "You don't want Ironman to catch you sneaking out."

"Would _you_?"

"No." Ned continued to type. "Lucky for you I don't see anything like that, but there are a ton of alerts set to go out to him if you so much as get a bruise."

"He gets notified every time I get a bruise?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little. But he does have a whole system set up. It looks like the only injuries he gets immediate alerts for are the bad ones. Broken bones, concussions, severe lacerations, loss of consciousness. Obviously. And he has an extensive set of algorithms here for when the suit should send out an emergency signal to him that you need help."

"What? Like when?"

"Um there's one set up for when a force hitting the suit exceeds a certain PSI. There's one for if you exceed a certain altitude. And there's another one here for if any of your opponents ever manage to successfully restrain you. And it looks like he has a ton of complicated and sophisticated programing for determining if you're in over your head based on things like your reaction time, your opponents weaponry…" Ned trailed off as he kept reading. "God Peter there's so much complex programming here. He must have spent weeks on this."

"Really?" The thought of Tony spending so much time on something to keep him safe made the guilt from earlier bubble back up.

"I don't know. I guess it depends on how fast he works. I know this kind of thing would probably take me months."

"But you don't see anything that could get me in trouble if I go out tonight?"

"Give me ten more minutes, but I don't think so. Just make sure not to get seriously hurt or take on any crazy tough opponents and you should be fine."

"Wonderful." Peter said sarcastically. "So be careful as Spiderman? That's an oxymoron."

"You _should_ be careful."

Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm practically an Avenger."

"Maybe." Ned appeased him. "But none of the other Avengers are still in high school and they don't regularly go out alone without any back up. Peter, none of the things I'm seeing here are unreasonable. It gives you the space to do your thing but with a huge safety net set up. This actually makes me feel a lot better about you going out as Spiderman. Knowing someone's obviously got your back."

"I shouldn't need someone to have my back." Peter complained. "I'm a superhero."

"Everyone needs help sometimes." Ned argued reasonably. "Even Spiderman."

Peter sighed but didn't argue.

After another few minutes of intense work, Ned broke the silence. "Well one thing's for sure, if there was ever any doubt, which there _wasn't_ , this has definitely proved that Tony cares about you. A lot."

"Yeah." Peter admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "I know he does."

Peter's mind flashed back to all the times just in the past week Tony had been there for him. He knew Tony loved him.

Ned gave him a knowing look before he went back to studying the display on his computer.

"I think you're good to go without Tony finding out. I'm not seeing anything here that will get you in trouble." Ned finally decided as he unhooked the suit and handed it over. "As long as you're careful like I said."

"Thanks Ned." Peter took the suit back with a smile and immediately started changing.

"Dude." Ned complained as he turned away. "You can't do that in the bathroom?"

"And risk your parents seeing Spiderman in the hallway? No way."

"Fine whatever. Just hurry up."

Peter snorted at Ned's discomfort but did as he was told. He'd gotten adept at changing in and out of the suit quickly. As soon as he was dressed he started climbing out Ned's window.

"Don't wait up for me. I'll be back by five." The idea of getting to stay up all night to be Spiderman sent a thrill of excitement through him. He hadn't gotten to do this in months. Tony was way too strict about his stupid curfew.

"Ok. Be safe."

"I will." Peter gave Ned a salute and then vaulted off the window in the night.


	4. Chapter 4

"Could everyone please fill out the form and pass it forward? Once I've collected them we can get started on our lesson for today." Peter's chemistry teacher said as he handed out said forms to the class.

Peter glanced at it. He recognized it as the basic information form they had to fill out every year. He'd never had to give it a second thought before, but now he found himself staring blankly at it, pen hovering over the blank space for parental contact information.

He chewed on his lip as he looked around at everyone else easily completing the form. Some of his classmates were already done and passing them forward. Peter knew it shouldn't require this much thought. He knew he should put Tony's name down. Tony was his guardian. Was his _dad_ now. Obviously he needed to put him down as his parental contact, but for some reason he hesitated, pen still frozen in place.

Without thinking about it any further he took a deep breath and jotted down May's name and all her old contact information. As he handed the form forward, he told himself it was because no one was supposed to know Tony was his guardian and it wasn't like the school would ever need to use it anyway. Apparently he wasn't just getting better at lying to other people, he was getting better at lying to himself.

* * *

"Hey short stack. How's it going?" Clint asked as he plopped down next to him on the couch in the common room.

"Good." Peter answered distractedly as he hurried to finish the last question on his calculus homework. MJ had let them all go after only an hour of decathlon practice after school. Peter meant to use the extra time to extend his evening patrol. Going out as Spiderman was the only way he seemed to be able to clear his head these past few days.

"Busy week?" Clint asked once Peter finished the last question.

"Huh? Not too bad." Peter glanced over at him. "Why?"

"I haven't seen you around much."

"Oh. I spent the weekend at Ned's." Peter explained. In fact, he'd begged off coming home on Sunday with the excuse that he and Ned needed more time to finish their 'project'. Tony had reluctantly acquiesced and Peter had spent all night out as Spiderman instead.

"It's Thursday." Clint commented with a raised eyebrow.

Peter shrugged. Between school, decathlon practice, homework and patrolling, Peter hadn't been around much. In fact, he'd barely seen Tony this past week and he knew it wasn't because the other man was busy. Peter knew he was avoiding him on purpose, but he just couldn't seem to wrap his head around all the emotions the Ben dream had dredged up and seeing Tony and having to interact with him just made it worse.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked when Peter stood and set his homework on the coffee table.

"Time to go be Spiderman." Peter answered. "Um can you let Tony know if he's looking for me?"

Clint frowned at him.

"What?" Peter asked.

"You ok kid?"

"I—" Peter hesitated. For a brief moment, he almost caved and spilled everything that had been bothering him, but he stopped at the last second. The Avengers were a family and they had their own unspoken rules, and one of them was that they didn't keep important secrets about Peter from Tony. So he knew if he told Clint, there was no way Tony wouldn't find out. "I'm fine."

"Ok." Clint said, frown deepening. "You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure." Peter said as he hurried to the elevator, knowing that the superspy had obviously caught the slight slip up.

"Uh-huh." Clint's made his skepticism known.

"I'll see you later." Peter called out as he escaped into the elevator.

"See ya squirt. Be safe."

* * *

Tony let out a heavy sigh as he walked into the common room, already in a bad mood because FRIDAY had informed him that Peter wasn't home. Again. So he was going to miss dinner with him. Again. Which made it seven days in a row now that he'd skipped out on dinner with Tony. Something was clearly up but he had no idea what. He'd wracked his brain to try to figure it out, but nothing came to mind. He'd been hoping it was something minor that would sort itself out but now it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case.

Tony thought he and Peter had reached the point where it'd be smooth sailing, but clearly he'd been wrong. Or deluding himself. Maybe such a point didn't even exist when it came to kids. Who knew having a teenager could cause so much stress? Tony was still struggling to get a handle on the crippling anxiety that overtook him every time Peter went out as Spiderman. And now he had this new worry that was equally taxing in a different way.

Tony sighed and pulled his tie loose as he walked toward the couches where Steve, Clint, Bruce, Nat, Rhodey, and Sam sat scattered around. Scott was absent visiting his kid for the week, and Vision and Wanda were off gallivanting somewhere in Eastern Europe together.

"Hey guys." Tony greeted as sat heavily on the couch between Steve and Nat.

He received distracted hellos from everyone.

"Where's Peter?" Steve asked curiously.

"Not home." Tony said making no effort to hide his frustration. "Again."

"He went out as Spiderman about an hour ago." Clint offered. "He told me to let you know."

Tony puffed out a breath and rubbed a hand down his face.

"So what's up with him?" Clint asked. "Because something obviously is."

"Hell if I know." Tony admitted. "I think he's avoiding me but I have no idea why."

"I don't think it's just you. I haven't seen him all week." Nat shrugged.

"Me neither." Bruce frowned.

"Well maybe it's not just me." Tony mused even as his worry ratcheted up.

"Do you think maybe he's having trouble at school?" Rhodey asked. "Happy told me about that asshole kid that pushed him around a couple weeks ago."

"Peter's getting bullied?" Clint asked incredulously.

"No I don't think he's getting bullied." Tony denied. He'd already considered the possibility earlier in the week and dismissed it. "Something else is wrong, but I have no idea what."

"Well I got nothing." Sam offered with a shrug.

The rest of the team just shook their heads or shrugged.

"What about you Cap? Thoughts?" Tony asked.

"I don't know." Steve patted his shoulder. "I guess you'll just have to talk to him."

"I want to but he keeps disappearing on me." Tony sighed.

"You know what they say. If the mountain won't come to Muhammad…" Bruce advised.

"Well I'm heading out to Malibu tomorrow night for business this weekend." Tony said.

"I don't see how that's going to help." Steve frowned.

"You want us to interrogate the kid while you're gone?" Clint joked.

"No. I'm bringing Peter with me." Tony smirked. "Let's see him try to evade me on the jet. We'll have hours of uninterrupted one on one time."

Grins and chuckles broke out.

"Sounds like you've already got it all figured out. What do you need us for?" Sam asked.

"You know Wilson, I ask myself that all the time." Tony joked. He managed to get both his hands up before he was hit by a mass of throw pillows.

* * *

"Hey kiddo." Tony said from his spot on the couch as Peter walked into the penthouse in his Spiderman suit with mask off and in hand. Peter looked surprised to see him there. Tony hadn't waited up the last few nights, and he wondered now if that'd been a mistake.

"Um I'm not late am I?" Peter asked with a frown as he glanced over at the clock in the kitchen.

"No. I just wanted to talk to you for a second." Tony explained.

"Oh. Well, I'm really tired. I think I'm going to head to bed."

"That's ok. This will be quick." Tony said with a smile before Peter had the chance to blow him off.

"What?" Peter asked as he hesitantly walked over to him.

"I have to go to Malibu this weekend for SI business."

"Oh. Ok. That's fine. I was planning on spending the weekend with Ned again anyway." Peter tried to smile at him but it ended up twisting funny on his face.

Tony eyed him. "You're coming with me."

"What? But I—"

"It's not up for discussion." Tony said with finality. "I'm picking you up right after school tomorrow so pack a bag in the morning, and don't forget your swim trunks."

Peter gaped at him.

"Now go get ready for bed." Tony nudged his head in the direction of Peter's bedroom. "Good night kiddo."

"Good night Tony." Peter sounded resigned and Tony watched him trudge down the hallway to his bedroom. Something about that interaction had seemed off but he couldn't put his finger on what.

Half an hour later as he finished his paperwork, it hit him. He couldn't remember the last time Peter had called him dad. If Tony hadn't been sure something was wrong before, he definitely was now.

* * *

 _'May.' She looked as beautiful as ever as she stood staring out the living room window of their apartment. The light behind her shone like a halo in her hair._

 _'Peter.' She turned and smiled so brightly at him that Peter felt like everything was finally right again in the world. He leapt forward to hug her and cried when she automatically reciprocated. Peter clung to her like a lifeline, basking in the feeling of rightness and safety that encompassed him._

 _'I love you.' He spoke the three words like a sacred promise._

 _'I love you too honey.' She said right back and for a few moments they just held each other._

 _'I just wish you hadn't forgotten me.' May murmured into his hair and suddenly all his happiness slipped away._

 _'I haven't. I haven't forgotten you.' Peter denied and hugged her tighter, inhaling her familiar scent. 'I could never forget you May. Never. I miss you so much.'_

 _May pulled back from him and her smile weakened as she caressed his cheek softly. 'No you don't.'_

 _'I do.' Peter pleaded._

 _'You have Tony now. Your very own dad.' The glassiness in May's eyes as she held his face in her hands broke his heart. 'You finally have everything you ever wanted.'_

 _'No. No. I never wanted this.' Peter denied as his own tears spilled from his eyes._

 _'When are you going to stop lying to yourself Peter?' May leaned forward to kiss his cheek and whispered. 'This is exactly what you wanted.'_

Peter's eyes snapped open. He immediately scrunched them closed again and rubbed a hand roughly over them. A dream. It was just a dream. May wasn't here. She was gone. She hadn't actually said those things. It was all in his head. Even so, his heart ached terribly. First Ben and now May. Why was this happening?

"FRIDAY what time is it?" He asked hoarsely, not wanting to move his hand from his face to check the clock.

"It is currently 5:45am." FRIDAY answered.

Great. He sat up blearily. Might as well face the day. There was no way he'd be able to get back to sleep now anyway. Besides, he still had to pack for Malibu. Tony had sprung that on him last night and he'd been too exhausted to think about it much before falling into bed. Now that he did have the time, he still didn't want to think about it.

He got up and used the extra time to pack for the weekend and to get even farther ahead on schoolwork. At the last minute, he showered and dressed so he didn't have to spend any more time than necessary with Tony. He already didn't know how he was going to get through a whole weekend with just the two of them. His only was hope was that Tony would be too busy with SI stuff to bother with him, but somehow he doubted that would happen. Usually he'd be over the moon about that, but not now. Shit.

Luckily, Tony had an early meeting that morning so he was already gone by the time Peter emerged from his room. Happy drove him to school and the day passed remarkably quickly. Probably because Peter was dreading the end of the day. That was how time worked after all. Too fast when you wanted it to go slow and too slow when you wanted it to go fast. The final bell of the day rang and he begged off decathlon practice. MJ wasn't super happy about it since they had their first meet in four days but she begrudgingly let him go.

Peter walked a few blocks down the street before he spotted Tony in his favorite car, the Audi R8. Meeting away from school was the solution they'd come up with for when Tony picked him up so no one would notice. Peter checked over his shoulder to ensure none of his classmates were in sight before he opened the door and climbed in.

"Hey Tony." He greeted as he settled into the front seat. He planned to get through the weekend by acting like nothing was bothering him.

"Hey kid." Tony smiled and glanced at him over the rim of his sunglasses. "Ready for a weekend of fun in the sun?"

"Um yeah." Peter said back. See? He could totally pretend like everything was fine.

"Great. Let's get this show on the road." Tony laid on the accelerator and they peeled away.

"How was school?"

"Good." Peter shrugged.

"Good."

For some reason, Tony seemed fine with the silence that settled between them as they listened to the radio on the way to the airport. Peter pulled out his homework and tried to finish the little bit he had left for the weekend, not paying any attention to his surroundings. When Tony stopped the car on a flat blacktop, he frowned. This wasn't the airport parking lot.

"We're here." Tony announced as he unbuckled and hopped out of the car.

Huh? Peter frowned but followed Tony's lead and got out. As soon as he stepped outside and looked around, he recognized his surroundings. They were on a tarmac with a Stark Industries jet waiting nearby. The same place Happy had taken Peter to board the jet when he'd gone to Germany. Holy shit. Of course they'd fly on Tony's private plane. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if Tony ever flew anything but private. Probably not. Peter's mind whirled as Tony chatted with Happy who'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He watched as the two men walked toward the trunk and Happy opened it and grabbed Peter's duffel and Tony's suitcase out of it. Tony grabbed the Ironman suitcase armor to carry himself.

Tony glanced over at Peter who still stood awkwardly by his door and waved him over. "Let's go."

Peter followed in somewhat of a daze. Before he'd met Tony, he'd never even been on an airplane and now he was destined to fly private as Tony Stark's son. What if he went his whole life without ever flying on a normal airplane? Wasn't that weird?

"Pick a seat." Tony told him as soon as they boarded the plane. Peter headed over to one in the middle of the plane and watched while Happy and Tony put their stuff away and said their good-byes.

"Don't wreck my car." Tony joked and tossed the keys to the Audi to Happy who caught them deftly.

"Don't have too much fun this weekend." Happy joked back.

"Oh we will."

"See you on Sunday boss. Bye kid."

"Bye Happy." Peter gave him a half wave and then Happy disappeared back down the jet stairway. Tony tapped in a numerical code on a keypad and the door closed.

A moment later, Tony plopped down right across from Peter. He couldn't help but think of his previous plane ride with Happy and how the man hadn't wanted to sit by him. He wondered if he and Happy flew together now if that'd still be the case. He didn't think so since the man actually seemed to enjoy his company now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tony asked curiously.

Peter blinked and refocused on Tony. He hadn't realized he'd been staring blankly into space. At some point Tony had taken his sunglasses off so Peter could see the slight concern in his eyes.

"Just thinking." He answered.

"Yeah I got that. What about?" Tony didn't let him deflect.

"When I flew to Germany with Happy." Peter admitted with a small smile. "He didn't want to sit by me."

"Well I want to sit by you." Tony said, obviously figuring out where Peter's train of thought had come from. "I feel like I've barely seen you this past week."

"Yeah I had kind of a busy week." Peter shrugged and turned to stare out the window as the plane taxied to the runway.

"School going ok?"

"Yeah."

"No kids are giving you any trouble?"

Peter frowned and glanced over at Tony. "No."

The conversation paused as the plane took off and Peter went back to staring out the window.

"Did you run into any problems as Spiderman this week?" Tony asked.

"No." Peter figured out then that Tony was fishing.

"So everything's all good with you?"

"Yep. All good. No complaints." Uh-huh. Sure. If he didn't count the current emotional crisis he seemed to be going through.

Tony didn't respond and Peter didn't have to look at him to know he was being scrutinized. Peter purposely continued to stare out the window, knowing Tony would easily read the lie on his face.

"You haven't been your typical hyper talkative self." Tony observed lightly.

"Long day today." Peter tried for an excuse.

"I don't just mean today."

"Long week."

"Hmm."

Tony nudged his leg with a foot.

"What's going on Peter?" Tony straight up asked once Peter turned his attention to him. Apparently Tony was done with being subtle. Not that he did subtle that well anyway.

"Nothing." Peter hated the way his voice sometimes went up an octave when he lied.

"You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I know." He did.

"If something's bothering you…"

"I—" Peter fully intended to complete the sentence as 'I'm fine' but the words got stuck in his throat.

"Peter?"

Peter shook his head. He couldn't tell Tony now when they were trapped together for hours. Besides, he had no idea how he would even begin.

"It's nothing." Peter hoped it wasn't obvious he was lying.

"Girl trouble?"

Peter let out a surprised laugh. Yeah if only it were that easy.

"Yeah right. Like I have time for girl trouble." Peter joked.

"Why not?"

"Yeah I'll be sure to pencil in time for dating in between school, Spiderman, and decathlon."

"Spiderman can't take the backseat for a date once in awhile?"

"No. Are you kidding? Going out as Spiderman is way more important than any stupid girl. Plus it didn't exactly work out so well for my last date. I put her dad in jail and then she ended up having to move across the country, remember?"

"Yeah but you need to live your life kiddo."

Peter rolled his eyes.

"I mean it." Tony said earnestly.

"Uh-huh and how's your love life?" Peter threw the scrutiny right back at him.

"Oh I see what you did there, but it's not going to work." Tony smirked.

"Pepper seems great. Whatever happened with that?" Peter tried a different angle.

"Ha ha. All right that's enough. My appallingly bleak love life is none of your concern." Tony leaned forward and ruffled his hair.

Peter laughed as he hurried to straighten the mess of his hair out, and just like that he and Tony were talking. The conversation for the rest of the flight flowed effortlessly even as Peter tried to ignore the building guilt in the back of his mind. He'd missed Tony this past week, and Tony seemed relieved now that they were talking. Maybe he could just let himself enjoy this one weekend with him. He could go back to agonizing over everything when he got back to New York.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to update! I kept re-writing it and I'm still not exactly happy with it but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer since you've all been so great!


	5. Chapter 5

The weekend went by way too fast. Peter loved California, and Tony's new house in Malibu was amazing. Peter's favorite part was the deck with high end patio furniture and an infinity pool that overlooked the ocean. He'd spent most of his time there, enjoying the view and the sunshine. Surprisingly, Tony had been there almost the entire time as well except for when had to go into the office for a few hours Saturday and Sunday morning for SI business. It'd been really nice. Peter had almost felt back to normal.

But now the weekend was over and the all the guilt and insecurities that had plagued him previously had come rushing back. He finished unpacking and flopped backwards onto his bed. He didn't know what to do. Should he just try to ignore these stupid feelings until they go away? It'd worked well enough over the weekend. But what if they never went away? And what right did he have to wish them away? Didn't he deserve to feel guilty? Hadn't he replaced May and Ben too quickly? Too easily?

"Argh." Peter growled and sat back up. He forced himself to his feet and made it over to his balcony door and slid it open. The cool night air hit his face. He stepped fully out onto the balcony and closed the door behind him. He couldn't believe it was almost mid-October already. He'd been living with Tony for over four months now. May had been gone for over four months. It seemed like just yesterday but forever ago at the same time.

The twinkling lights of the skyline gave the night an almost dream-like quality, adding to the surreality he was feeling in the moment. The chill slowly settled into his bones and his thoughts seeped away with it. He shivered and stared out into the night thinking about absolutely nothing for the first time in a long time. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, locked in some sort of trance, until the glass door slid open behind him.

"Peter what are you doing?"

Even without looking at him Peter could tell Tony was worried because he'd called him Peter. He only called him Peter when he was worried or angry or trying to be serious. Otherwise, he seemed to prefer kiddo or kid. May had used nicknames for him too. She'd preferred honey or sweetie and Peter's heart twinged painfully at the memory of it. He'd probably never get called those things again. Those endearments definitely weren't Tony's style.

"Peter?"

Peter blinked back to the present and turned to see Tony standing in the doorway, a deep frown on his face.

"Just getting some air." Peter answered quietly.

"FRIDAY says you've been out here for almost an hour. It's way past your bedtime." Tony said.

"I lost track of time."

"Come back inside." Tony beckoned with a hand. "You're going to freeze out here in just a t-shirt and… _bare feet_? Jesus Christ where are your shoes? Or at least socks? You've been out here for an hour like this?"

Peter glanced down at his feet. He hadn't even noticed. "Oh."

"Get in here." Tony grabbed his arm and dragged him back inside. "Are you trying to give yourself hypothermia?"

"No." Peter replied, affronted, but he let Tony steer him toward the bed and sit him down on the edge of it. Tony stayed standing in front of him so Peter had to look up to meet his eyes.

"What's going on Peter?" Tony asked in an absolutely no nonsense voice.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Tony scoffed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "So you expect me to believe there's absolutely no reason why you were standing outside in the cold in the middle of the night?"

Peter looked down at the floor to avoid Tony's piercing gaze.

"You know what I think?" Tony continued. "I think there's something that's been bothering you all week and for some reason it got better when we went out to California, but now that we're back home, it's like nothing's changed."

Peter should've known Tony would figure something was up.

"Am I right?"

Peter didn't give any indication either way. He knew Tony could tell when he was lying and he didn't feel like admitting the truth, so he just kept staring at the floor.

"I'm right." Tony asserted, but Peter refused to confirm it.

A second later two warm hands settled on his shaking shoulders.

"Jesus. You're shivering." Tony observed and ran his hands up and down a couple times before he let go so he could pull back the covers on his bed. "Crawl in."

Peter didn't have the energy to argue. Plus now that it'd been brought to his attention and he'd started to thaw out in the warmth of indoors, he realized he was miserably cold.

Tony tucked him in and then grabbed the blanket at the foot of his bed and set that over him as well for extra warmth. Tony sat on the bed next to him and ran a hand over Peter's forehead and down his cheek.

"You're frozen." Tony seemed even more worried.

Peter couldn't really argue since he was obviously shivering under the covers.

"FRIDAY turn up the heat in here and dim the lights." Tony ordered.

"Yes boss."

Exhaustion washed over him as warmth slowly started to soak back into his bones. He closed his eyes and hoped he could fall asleep fast enough to avoid any more of this conversation.

"Peter." Tony said softly after a long silence. "Please tell me what's wrong."

No such luck. It got even worse when Tony started running a hand through his hair, lowering his defenses. No fair.

"I can't." He mumbled.

"Why not?"

Peter just shook his head.

"Would you rather talk to someone else?" Peter could hear the hurt Tony tried to hide with the question. "Steve? Bruce? Clint?"

Peter shook his head again.

"You've got to talk to someone. Whatever's going on, it's eating you up inside. I can tell." Tony said sadly.

"It's nothing." Peter whispered the lie, already almost asleep from Tony's soothing presence next to him and the hand playing with his hair. "I just need a little time."

Tony let out a heavy sigh, obviously not pleased with the response. Another long silence passed. Peter was almost asleep by the time Tony eventually whispered back. "All right kiddo."

Peter wasn't sure how much longer Tony stayed but he knew he was still there when he fell asleep.

* * *

 _'I see how it is. Little rich boy's forgotten about us lesser sorts.' Ben gave him a twisted smile._

 _'What? No!' Peter denied._

 _'Did you forget about your promise?' Ben asked angrily._

 _'What promise?'_

 _'The one you made to yourself when you became Spiderman. To protect the little guy. Did you forget?'_

 _'No. I-I didn't forget.'_

 _'Then what are you doing gallivanting across the country with your new daddy?'_

 _'It was just for the weekend.' Peter tried to defend himself._

 _'Yeah and how many people died this weekend because you were too busy having fun? Huh?' Ben asked. 'How many people could you have saved? Not that you seem to care anymore.'_

 _'I care. Of course I care.'_

 _'It doesn't seem like it. Seems like you barely have time to be Spiderman.' Ben scoffed._

 _'That's not my fault." Peter argued. "I can't go out as much as I used to. I-I have a curfew.'_

 _'That never would've stopped you before.' Ben accused_

 _Peter swallowed hard at the truth to those words._

 _'Admit it Peter. Your heart's not in it anymore. You don't care about being Spiderman because you don't care about the little guy anymore. Just like you never really cared about me or May.'_

 _'I did.' Peter lamented._

 _'You only care about yourself.' Ben shook his head. 'I'm glad I didn't live to see what a disappointment you turned out to be.'_

 _Ben's harsh words drove a dagger through his heart._

Peter woke with tears running down his face.

* * *

"Tony."

"Tony."

" _Tony_."

"Huh?" Tony looked up from where he'd been blankly staring at his computer screen. Pepper stood in front of his desk, arms crossed and eyebrows pinched together in a look Tony had become all too familiar with, annoyance mixed with concern.

"I need you to look these over and sign them before the meeting this afternoon." Pepper handed him a folder of paperwork.

"Right. No problem." Tony acquiesced without complaint. A rarity for him. He might as well scream from the rooftop that something was wrong.

"All right. What's going on?" Pepper asked.

Tony ran his hand over his goatee and reclined back in his chair.

"Tony?" Pepper prompted.

"Peter." Tony admitted.

"What about him? Is he ok?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Tony sighed. "Something's up with him but he won't tell me."

"He _is_ a teenager." Pepper said with amusement.

"I caught him standing outside on his balcony last night barefoot in a t-shirt." Tony explained. "Seems like something a little more than your typical teenage angst."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Pepper shrugged.

"And I think he's avoiding me. Or at least I think he was last week. Then he seemed ok this weekend but last night he got all broody again but he wouldn't tell me what was wrong. And this morning he ran off to school without saying a word to me."

"I'm sure everything's fine." Pepper tried to reassure him. "Maybe he overslept and he was running late for school."

"Hm. Maybe." That was an easy enough answer to find out. "FRIDAY?"

"Yes boss?"

Tony frowned. FRIDAY should know what he was asking for by the context of the conversation. He shouldn't need to give her clarification.

"What time did Peter wake up this morning?"

"Peter did not oversleep this morning." FRIDAY responded after a slight pause.

Before Tony had a chance to think about why that answer had seemed odd, Pepper interrupted his thoughts. "Tony, I'm sure there's another perfectly reasonable explanation. Why would Peter be avoiding you?"

His phone buzzed on his desk.

"Speak of the devil." Tony mumbled when he saw the alert that he'd just received a text from Peter.

"See? He's texting you. He's not avoiding you." Pepper said as Tony clicked open the message.

 _I forgot to tell you we have a decathlon meet in Philadelphia today and we're not going to get back until late so I'm just going to spend the night at Ned's. I'll see you tomorrow._

"What?" Pepper asked, obviously reading the displeasure on his face.

Tony held a finger up and then started to type out his reply. This had gone on long enough. He'd said last night that he'd give Peter time but that didn't mean his kid got to avoid him anymore.

 _No. Not all right. I want you to come home tonight._ He typed out.

 _We're not going to get back until after 11pm. I'm not going to make Happy pick me up that late. It's easier if I just stay at Ned's._ Peter argued.

 _I'll pick you up._ Tony countered.

 _Why can't I just stay at Ned's?_

Tony had never been so tempted to say 'because I said so' to Peter, but he resisted.

 _It's a school night. I want you to come home._

 _You let me stay over at Ned's on a school night that one time._

 _That was different._

 _How?_

 _Peter stop arguing with me. I'm picking you up and you're going to sleep in your own bed tonight. End of discussion._ Tony hated when he had to exert his authority. When the kid first came to live with him, it'd been an infrequent occurrence but over the past month he'd found himself having to do it more and more. It worried him.

 _Whatever._ Peter typed back.

Tony scowled at the response, knowing it was purposely meant to incite his anger.

"What?" Pepper asked again.

Tony turned the phone screen toward her to read. He watched as her serene expression darkened.

"Tony what did you do?" She accused as she set the phone back down on his desk.

"I don't know!" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration, because it was the truth. He didn't know. Usually he had at least an inkling, but right now he honestly had no clue.

"Well obviously you did something." Pepper pursed her lips.

"I don't think I did." Tony defended weakly.

"Well you're right." Pepper continued. "He's avoiding you."

"I don't think it's just me." Tony admitted. "Apparently he hasn't been hanging around any of the team much either."

Pepper's expression became more thoughtful at that comment.

"Something Avenger's related then?" She ventured a guess.

"I don't know." Tony huffed and leaned onto his desk, head in his hands.

"A problem with someone on the team?"

"I don't know." Tony doubted it though. If it were something like that he would've heard about it from one of his teammates by now.

"Spiderman related?"

"I don't know!" Tony exploded. "What part of I don't know do you not understand?"

"Well think about it!" Pepper yelled right back. "You know for a genius, you sure can be dense sometimes! Why don't you try to pinpoint when this first started? Maybe that will give you a clue."

Tony sighed and tried to do as Pepper suggested as he scratched at his goatee in thought. When had it started? He'd first noticed something seemed off last week but had it started before then? He tried to remember if Peter had acted out of character the week before but he drew a blank. He wracked his brain. Maybe it really had started last Monday? Or the weekend before? Peter had run out of the Tower like a bat out of hell that Saturday morning and he'd spent the whole weekend at Ned's. But that had been for a project, hadn't it? Or had it actually been the start of this whole thing? That Friday before the Avengers had gone on a mission.

"I think maybe something happened the Friday before last week." Tony frowned. "We had a mission that day. Maybe it has something to do with that if Peter's avoiding the entire team?"

"Maybe." Pepper frowned and chewed on her bottom lip. "You can't think of anything you might've said or anything else that might've happened before then?"

Tony thought a little longer but nothing stood out. "No. I can't. But it still doesn't make sense. Why would he be avoiding us just because we went on a mission? Nothing happened."

"Tony." Pepper said softly and Tony could hear a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"What?"

"I met Peter that Friday. Do you think it could have something to do with me?"

"No." Tony scoffed instantly. "Peter loved you. He told me so. Why? Did it seem like something was wrong?"

"Well no." Pepper admitted. "But it's not like I know Peter all that well. Maybe I just didn't notice?"

"Trust me. If something were really wrong, you'd know. Peter doesn't exactly do subtle very well." Tony gave her a reassuring smile.

"Sounds like someone else I know." Pepper smiled back.

"What? Me?" Tony asked and put a hand on his chest, taking mock offense. "Believe me, I can do subtle. I'm amazing at subtle."

"Uh-huh." Pepper quirked a skeptical eyebrow at him. "Why don't you just try talking to him?"

"I did try. I have been trying." Tony argued.

"Well try harder." Pepper said without sympathy.

Tony rolled his eyes. He wished it were that easy.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark? Some of us have work to do." Pepper sassed.

"Hey I was working! Before you came in here, I was working." He protested at her back as she walked away. "Right FRIDAY? Back me up here."

"Before Ms. Potts arrived, you hadn't participated in anything productive in the prior 87 minutes." FRIDAY said matter-of-factly.

Pepper laughed as the office door closed behind her.

"Traitor." Tony mumbled to FRIDAY as he flipped open the folder of paperwork on his desk and got to work. Once he finished, he'd go back to worrying about Peter.

* * *

Tony picked Peter up from school after his decathlon meet just like he said he would. It was only 9:45pm, so they hadn't gotten back quite as late as Peter had thought they would. Or maybe he'd known and he'd been lying. Tony wasn't certain at this point.

Peter got in the front seat and Tony braced himself for an argument, but Peter stayed surprisingly silent as he buckled in.

"How'd it go?" Tony asked lightly.

"Good. We won." Peter flashed him a small smile.

"Of course you did. You're on the team. The competition doesn't stand a chance." Tony smiled back.

"And MJ and Ned." Peter insisted. Tony thought he was too humble for his own good.

"MJ huh? Who's MJ?" Tony jibed.

"She's the captain."

"Hmm." Tony teased.

"She's just a friend." Peter said, but his blush made Tony think maybe there might be more there.

"Do we need to have the talk?" Tony meant to tease but as he said it, he realized that shit, maybe they did. Maybe May had never had a chance to give Peter the talk.

"The talk?" Peter frowned in confusion.

"Yeah you know the birds and the bees? Where do babies come from? That talk." Tony joked as he tried to stay nonchalant. He could talk about this with Peter. He wasn't shy, especially about this. Why was he suddenly dreading having to talk about it with his teenage son? Had his own father ever talked about sex with him? He didn't think so. Everything he'd learned, he'd gotten from friends or the internet.

"Oh my god. No. God no. No no no." Peter shook his head vigorously, turning even redder.

"So you don't know?" Tony asked innocently.

"No! I mean yes! I do know. We don't have to talk about…that." Peter almost looked like a tomato now.

"So you've already had the talk? You know about safe sex? Always wear a condom. All that jazz?" Tony continued.

"Please stop talking." Peter begged and hid his face in his hands.

"I'm too young to be a grandpa you know, and you have too bright of a future ahead of you." Tony was surprised to find himself suddenly lecturing.

"Oh my god. How did we get on this topic? MJ's just a friend. A _friend_. I don't even have a girlfriend, so I'm definitely not doing…that." Peter said.

"What? Sex?"

Peter groaned.

"Well good because if you can't even say it you shouldn't be having it." Tony said.

"Oh my god. Can we please stop talking about it?" Peter let his head rest against the window with a slight thud.

"Fine." Tony acceded. "But if you ever have any questions or want to talk, I'm always here."

"How did we even get on this topic? Can we please talk about literally anything else?" Peter practically whined. "I would've asked Happy to pick me up if I'd known you were going to be like this."

Tony let out a laugh at Peter's absolute mortification. Yeah he probably didn't have much to worry about there. Tony remembered what he'd been like at sixteen and he was glad Peter wasn't going to follow in his footsteps when it came to girls. He was a good kid.

"Are you hungry? Did you get dinner?" Tony asked.

"I'm good. We stopped for burgers." Peter answered and Tony noticed he sounded worn. Tony glanced over and caught the unguarded expression on his face as he stared out the window. Peter looked exhausted and…sad? Almost world weary. Tony frowned.

"School go ok today?" Tony asked. Why couldn't he figure out what was wrong with his kid?

"Yeah. I got my English paper back. Aced it." Peter glanced over and gave him a little half smile. Tony didn't like that it wasn't reflected in his eyes.

"Good job kiddo." Tony encouraged with his own smile.

"It's nothing." Peter shrugged off the compliment.

"It's not nothing. I'm proud of you." Tony said. His own father had never told him he was proud of him. It was something Tony had always hoped to hear. He planned to make sure Peter heard it often enough.

"Thanks Tony." Peter said quietly and Tony could hear the gratefulness in the tone.

"It's true. You're a great kid and I'm proud of you." Tony reiterated, feeling like it was important. Tony didn't understand why Peter's face almost looked pained at the praise, but he resisted the urge to question him about it.

They drove the rest of the way in companionable silence. A short time later Tony pulled into the Tower garage and they made their way to the penthouse.

"Good night Tony." Peter said as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Good night kiddo." Tony said quietly back. He watched as Peter rubbed his eyes and headed to bed. As soon as the kid was out of sight, Tony sighed and ran a hand over his own eyes. Peter had seemed okay, but Tony could tell something was still bothering him and he was no closer to figuring it out. Not to mention it was yet another day that had gone by without hearing his son call him dad.

* * *

A/N: Infinity War killed me. I hope this helps. Thanks for all the amazing feedback so far!


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey where do think you're going?" Tony called out as Peter brushed past him toward the elevator. It was the first he'd seen of his kid since he'd driven him home after the decathlon meet last night.

"Going out as Spiderman." Peter answered. "Like I do every night?"

"No. Nuh-uh. I want you to have dinner with me tonight." Tony said as he took a break from filling the pot in front of him with water to look over at Peter.

"But I—"

"You can go out as Spiderman after dinner. I don't want you skipping dinner anymore." Tony stated firmly.

"I don't skip. I eat when I'm out on patrol." Peter argued.

"Well I want you to eat with me." Tony was putting his foot down. He wasn't going to make it easy for Peter to avoid him anymore.

Peter looked conflicted as he glanced at Tony and then back at the elevator door. Tony's eyebrows rose. He could tell the kid was contemplating leaving anyway.

"Peter." Tony said in warning.

He watched as Peter's shoulders fell with a sigh and the kid started walking back to his room.

"Where are you going? Come hang out with your old man." Tony called out after him as he put the pot of water on the stove to boil.

"I have homework." Peter said without pause.

"You were going to leave without finishing your homework?" Tony frowned. Peter knew the rules and usually he followed them.

"It's not due until Friday."

"If it's not due until Friday then you can keep me company instead." Tony insisted.

"I want to get a jump on it." Peter shrugged.

"Ok fine. Bring it out here and work on it."

"I can't concentrate out here." Peter argued. Tony knew that wasn't true.

"You can't avoid me forever!" Tony accused, trying the straightforward approach as Peter disappeared into the hallway.

Predictably, he got no response. Tony planted his hands on the edge of the kitchen counter and leaned into it as he bowed his head, allowing himself a moment to feel hurt at the obvious rejection, before he pulled himself together enough to go back to making dinner for his kid.

* * *

Peter webbed up the car thief, easily adhering his hands to the steering wheel.

"Ha. Now you have sticky fingers in more ways than one." Peter joked as he leaned in and turned the car off, pulling the keys from the ignition and tossing them on the passenger seat out of reach.

"You piece of—" The car thief spat.

"Cake?" Peter interrupted. "You're right. It really was a piece of cake catching you. Enjoy your stay in prison!"

Peter shot his webshooter to a nearby building and catapulted himself back into the air. "Karen call the cops so they can take care of that guy."

"The NYPD has already been notified."

"Thanks Karen."

"May I remind you that you are now two hours past curfew. I suggest making your way back home." Peter swore he could hear disapproval in her tone.

"Are you detecting any other criminal activity in the area?" Peter asked.

"No."

"All right. I suppose it's time to head home and face the music." Peter sighed. Karen had been harassing him constantly about his curfew for the past hour and a half. Honestly, Peter was surprised Tony hadn't called him yet, but he suspected this unexpected silence might be worse. Sure, Peter had broken rules before but never quite so willfully. But dream Ben's accusations about not spending enough time being Spiderman had hit him hard.

He made it home in fifteen minutes since he was closer to the Tower than usual. He hadn't spent the entire night in Queens. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching before darting into the Tower and then into the private elevator. He pulled his mask off and wiped the sweat off his forehead to keep it from running into his eyes. FRIDAY remained silent as the elevator brought him automatically up to the penthouse. Usually she at least greeted him. He really must be in the doghouse.

The elevator doors slid open and Peter's last sliver of hope that maybe he hadn't heard from Tony because the man was asleep and hadn't noticed his absence, faded away. Tony stood there waiting for him, arms crossed, and face stony.

"Oh so you've decided to grace me with your presence tonight after all." Tony said. Yep, he was mad.

Peter rolled his eyes, which was probably a mistake, but he didn't care. He found the guilt and sadness that'd been eating away at him rapidly channeling into anger. It was such a welcome relief that he embraced it.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Tony asked, his irritation apparent.

Peter shrugged. "Late."

"Yeah late is an understatement sport." Tony pointed to his watch. "It's one thirty in the morning. You're supposed to be home by eleven."

"So sue me." Peter grit his teeth and tried to walk past Tony.

"No you don't get to just brush this off." Tony grabbed his upper arm and swung him around. "You don't get to blatantly break the rules I set for you and think there won't be consequences."

"You didn't give me much choice. I had to make up the time I missed from dinner." Peter tried to yank his arm back but Tony had too tight of a grip.

"Oh no. That's not how this works. If you're not going to follow the rules I set for you as Spiderman then you don't get to be Spiderman." Tony stated sternly.

"You can't take Spiderman away from me. It's who I am!" Peter raised his voice as a shot of fear went through him.

"Oh yes I can. Watch me. After the crap you pulled tonight, no Spiderman for a week. Got it?" Tony pointed a finger near his face and Peter slapped it away.

"Or what? You'll take the suit away again? That worked so well for you last time." Peter said sarcastically as he used his full strength to wrench himself from Tony's grasp. He took a step back to put some distance between them as his blood boiled. He didn't miss the brief flash of hurt across Tony's face.

"Trust me kid. You don't want to test me on this. I don't need to take away your suit to enforce that rule." Tony's eyes turned steely.

Peter knew it wasn't an idle threat. In normal day to day life it was easy to forget that the man who'd adopted him was Tony Stark. But there was no doubt in his mind that in this moment that's exactly who he was talking to. If Tony Stark decided Peter didn't get to go out as Spiderman, he wouldn't get to go out as Spiderman.

Feeling backed into a corner, Peter lashed out. "This isn't fair! I have a duty as Spiderman to help people! I already barely get to go out on patrol as it is and now you're limiting it even more! You can't do that! I should be able to be Spiderman whenever I want!"

Peter felt a jolt of satisfaction at the shocked look on Tony's face at his heated outburst.

"Peter." Tony's face went carefully blank. "Listen. I understand that Spiderman's important to you, but it's not everything."

"Yes it is!" Peter could tell Tony was trying to deescalate the argument but he wanted to hold onto his anger.

"No it's not." Tony said in the exact same patronizing way he'd said 'No you're not' when Peter had sat on that jungle gym after getting rescued from the lake by Ironman and professed that he was ready to take on more.

"It is to me! You shouldn't be limiting me! You should be encouraging me!" Peter threw his hands out in wide gestures as he yelled, suddenly feeling overcome by all the different emotions running through him. He felt misunderstood. Limited. Frustrated. _Angry._

"And giving you a multimillion dollar suit and making sure you're safe is discouraging you? How?" Tony asked evenly.

"Because I barely get any time to do it! If I want to stay out late to keep people safe then I should be able to! I'm a superhero. I shouldn't have a stupid curfew! It's ridiculous!"

"It's not ridiculous. I want you to live your life. You're a kid!" Tony finally raised his voice.

"So? May let me! She understood what was important!"

"Well I'm not May."

"Trust me. I'm aware." Peter spat the sentence like an insult.

"But if May were here I imagine she'd back me up." Tony argued back.

"Don't say that. Don't pretend like you knew her. You didn't! And you barely know me!" Peter stomped off.

"That's not true and you know it!" Tony yelled back angrily. "Hey get back here! I'm not done with you!"

"I don't care! I'm done with you!" Peter yelled back right before slamming his bedroom door hard enough to echo loudly throughout the floor. He couldn't believe Tony was grounding him from Spiderman for a whole week just because he'd been a couple hours late. The unfairness of it rankled. Of course he knew that since Tony had adopted him he got to make the rules, but he didn't see why they had to be so limiting. For being a superhero himself, Tony sure didn't seem to understand Peter's viewpoint.

"Live your life Peter. There'll be plenty of time Peter." Peter whispered to himself derisively.

But the problem was Peter knew that more time was never a guarantee. He had an abundance of evidence of that in his own life. May and Ben had thought they'd had plenty of time and look what had happened to them. He remembered they'd always talked about taking a late honeymoon together. They hadn't had enough money when they got married to afford a honeymoon so they'd been saving to go to their dream destination, but then Peter had come along and sucked up a large portion of their extra funds. Another way he'd inadvertently ruined their lives.

They'd kept saving of course, but it'd been a much slower process with Peter in the picture. It didn't keep them from talking about it, though. They'd bring it up occasionally, like it was an inevitability instead of a dream.

 _When we go to France…_

 _I'm so sick of winter. Won't it be great when we finally get to escape to the warm beaches on the Riviera._

 _Let's go to that new French restaurant tonight. It'll be like a preview for our honeymoon._

But the trip itself kept getting put off.

And then Ben had died.

And May never brought up the French Riviera again.

That was why Peter felt such desperation about making more time for Spiderman. He had to do everything he could to make a difference. To help people with the time that he had. Because who knew how long it would be? Months? Years? Decades? A lifetime? He hoped he'd get to live a full life but he knew he could just as easily die tomorrow. He couldn't waste what time he had on the frivolous things Tony wanted for him.

 _With great power comes great responsibility._ Ben's words echoed in his mind.

His uncle was right and Peter fully intended to live up to that responsibility. He'd made a promise to himself and he meant to keep it. He would make as much of a difference in the world as he could. He refused to let humanity down. To let Ben down. His adopted father may be Tony Stark and he may live in a tower with an all seeing AI and super spies, but Peter Parker would be damned if that was going to stop him.

* * *

Tony watched as Peter stormed off in anger while his heart twisted in his chest. Ouch. That had hurt. He tried to tell himself that Peter didn't really mean it. The kid had been mad and looking to hurt him with words. Well, mission success.

"Fuck." Tony whispered and stood awkwardly in the middle of the living room, warring with himself about whether it'd be better to go after Peter or give him space. After a few long seconds, he decided the space idea was probably the better option at this point. If he followed him now they'd probably just end up fighting again.

God he was exhausted. This whole whatever was going on with Peter thing was wearing him down. The engineer in him railed against the unfairness of not knowing the reason for Peter's recent behavior change. He didn't know what was wrong so he couldn't fix it. There wasn't much Tony Stark couldn't fix and his son being one of those things frustrated him to no end.

"Boss Captain Rogers is requesting your presence downstairs." FRIDAY interrupted his thoughts.

"Steve? Doesn't he know it's ass o'clock at night?" Tony groused even as he walked to the elevator.

"I'm unaware if Captain Rogers is aware of the time. Would you like me to inquire for you?"

"No." Tony said with a sigh. Sometimes he couldn't tell if FRIDAY was being serious or just messing with him, but he'd never admit that to anyone.

The elevator took him to the common floor instead of Steve's room and when Tony stepped out he was surprised to see the entire team minus Bruce, Scott, Vision, and Wanda gathered on the couches, arguing about something. Hm. Maybe this could be a problem he could fix. Finally.

"Fuck Ross that piece of shit navy asshole! Why does he think he has any right to stick his nose in our business again?" Clint's voice rose above all the others.

Or maybe not.

"Army." Steve said.

"What?"

"He's a general in the army." Steve corrected.

"Oh my god. Are you serious right now?" Clint exploded. "Like that really matters? He could be the head of the fucking girl scouts for all I care. Over my dead body is he getting involved in the Accords again!"

"Looks like it's too late for that." Natasha said with false serenity. Tony could see the dismay churning behind her eyes.

"What's going on?" Tony interrupted. "And why was I the last one invited to this little shindig?'

"Your friend-" Clint started

"Ok first of all, not my friend." Tony interrupted pointedly. "About as far from friend as you can get actually. I'd go as far to say almost enemy."

"Well your frenemy, or whatever he is now, wants to add new sanctions to the current Accords!" Clint yelled.

"What?" Tony blinked, blindsided. He hadn't even been aware Ross was involved in the Accords again. He thought he'd made that pretty impossible after he'd raked the man over the coals last year once he'd uncovered him for the conniving self-serving snake he was.

"Oh and it gets better. He wants to be reinstated as the head of the Accords committee." Clint continued angrily.

" _What?!_ " Now it was Tony's turn to yell.

"You didn't know about this?" Steve asked, honestly surprised as he handed a stack of papers to Tony.

"No." Tony answered honestly with a frown. The fact that he'd been in the dark about this bothered him. He should've known about this ahead of time. How had this slipped by him? "What are the new sanctions?"

"For starters, he wants to get rid of all the autonomy we fought for." Nat stated.

"Are you kidding me?" Tony began frantically skimming and rifling through the papers. After a few minutes, he got the gist of it.

"I don't get it. It doesn't add up. Ross has to know we'd never agree to this. So why even try it? Why now?" Tony thought out loud.

"Maybe it's just an empty threat." Nat suggested. "Maybe he's posturing."

"But why?" Steve voiced. "Tony's right. It doesn't make sense."

"Excuse me what was that?" Tony asked quickly.

"Come on man." Sam complained.

"Don't be difficult." Rhodey warned.

"No hey I just want to take a moment to clarify because I _thought_ I heard Cap say I was right about something." Tony smirked. "But that can't possibly be right because we all know Cap would never admit I was right and he was wrong."

"I never said I was wrong." Steve said defensively.

"Boys." Nat addressed them, patience obviously thinning. "I hate to interrupt, but can we get back on track here?"

"Nat's right." Clint interjected. "Now what are we going to do about this?"

They all looked at each other.

"We're not agreeing to this. That's for damn sure." Sam offered.

"Agreed." Rhodey said.

"Yeah. Hell no." Clint added.

"Obviously we're not going to accept this." Steve said, pinching between his eyes. "The question is what next?"

"I'll call the President in the morning," Tony suggested, "and try to set up a meeting. Test the waters. See what he knows. Which means I'm going to have to fly to DC. Dammit."

Tony grit his teeth. That was the last thing he wanted to do right now with things so unsettled between him and Peter. Maybe he could get things figured out quickly in one short trip, but the realistic side of him had a bad feeling he had several visits to DC looming in his near future.

"What's so bad about DC?" Sam asked.

"Nothing. It's just…now's not exactly the best time for this to come up." Tony sighed.

"Trouble with SI?" Rhodey asked, concerned.

"I wish." Tony snorted. "That'd be easy. No. It's not SI. It's Peter. I still can't figure out what's going on with him. And now instead of just silent and broody, he's turned into loud and angry."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked in concern.

"He came home hours late tonight and then when I confronted him about it he blew up at me." Tony ran a hand down his face.

"Shit man." Sam muttered.

"I wouldn't take it personally." Nat said calmly. "There's obviously something upsetting him that he's bottling up, so instead of dealing with it, he's lashing out at you."

He considered that explanation. It made sense. Sometimes Tony forgot that Natasha had made her living as a spy and interrogator before the Avengers. Reading people and situations came as easy as breathing to her.

Tony nodded in appreciation. What Peter had said didn't hurt so much now that his actions had been painted in a different light. Tony definitely had a plethora of experience with lashing out at someone who didn't deserve it.

"Let us know if we can help." Steve offered and Tony gave him a small tense smile. He wished the others could magically fix Peter, but even without knowing what was wrong, he knew it was something only he could fix. Some parental sixth sense told him so.

"Thanks." Tony said. "Now, as fun as this middle of the night pow wow has been, I think I'm going to hit the hay since I have to be up in a few hours to get a jump on all this."

They said their good nights, and Tony turned on his heel and left. He had a bad feeling he wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. He doubted his mind would be able to stop grappling with Peter's odd behavior from the past couple weeks. He sighed. Sometimes he wished parenting came with an instruction manual.

* * *

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think! I love reading your comments. They really make my day! I've noticed a lot questions/worries about updating/continuing this story. Don't worry it's not going to get abandoned! I'm aiming to update every two weeks right now, so try to bear with me.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony dug his fingers into his closed eyes, trying to banish the aching fatigue behind them. Between the lack of sleep and the stress Peter and this new Accords business was causing him, it was a wonder he was even functional. Thankfully, the president's secretary had been able to make time for him for a last minute meeting in the afternoon. It was good to know he still had some serious pull. Probably only a handful of people could get a same day meeting with one of the most powerful men in the world. Apparently Tony Stark was still one of those few.

As he walked from his home office into the kitchen, he texted Pepper that he needed his jet ready to go to DC by noon at the latest. He knew it wasn't her job anymore, that she was his CEO and not his personal assistant, but old habits died hard and he adamantly refused to hire anyone new no matter how many times Pepper harangued him about it. Trust issues and all that. Besides, he knew she just relayed the message to her own personal assistant and Tony paid that woman more than generously for her efforts.

He grabbed the half full pot of coffee and refilled the mug in his hand. As he put it back, he noticed he wasn't alone in the kitchen. Peter sat slumped at the breakfast bar eating a bowl of cereal. Tony frowned at the dejected look on the kid's face and the way he was obviously avoiding acknowledging Tony's presence. Yep, this was definitely the worst timing to have to be leaving for DC.

Tony leaned back against the counter and took a long sip of coffee as he blatantly observed his kid. The side of Peter's head rested in the palm of his hand with his elbow propped up on the counter as he stared into his cereal bowl, absently toying with the spoon but not bringing it up to his mouth to eat. After a few long seconds of staring, Tony took another sip of coffee. Peter still refused to look at him. Great. A Mexican standoff with his kid over breakfast. What a wonderful way to start the day. Tony would be a little annoyed if Peter didn't look so miserable.

"Hey." Tony spoke first. He was the adult after all.

Peter looked up in surprise. He must not have expected Tony to break the silence.

"Um hey." Peter mumbled at him and then went back to examining his soggy cereal as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Tony debated whether he should bring up last night's events, but a glance at his watch told him he was already running late and Peter had to go to school soon, so now probably wasn't the right time to try to rehash things out.

"So listen." Tony cleared his throat. "Something came up and I have to fly to DC this afternoon. I'm going to try to be back by tonight, but if I'm not, I'll have Steve or Bruce or someone come check on you. And I want you to keep your phone on you and answer it if I call you. Ok?"

"Yeah whatever." Peter muttered and let his spoon drop into his bowl with a resounding clang. "I have to go to school."

Tony suppressed a flare of anger at the attitude. He didn't want to fight with Peter right now. He watched silently as Peter got up, put his bowl in the dishwasher, grabbed his backpack and left without another word.

Tony closed his eyes and sighed. As soon as he got this new disaster with the Accords settled, he was going to sit Peter down and make him talk whether the kid wanted to or not.

* * *

"…and then he told me I couldn't go out as Spiderman for a week." Peter finished telling Ned the story of what had happened last night from where he hung upside down on his friend's top bunk. Peter had gone to Ned's house to hang out after decathlon practice since Tony hadn't explicitly said he had to stay in the Tower.

"If you didn't want him to ground you from Spiderman, why'd you stay out so late?" Ned asked from the floor as he put the finishing touches on a Star Trek ship model.

"Because I should be able to stay out as late as I want! I'm helping people." Peter complained. Why didn't Ned get that?

"Yeah but you also have to sleep and go to school." Ned said distractedly.

"I can't believe you're taking his side." Peter accused.

Ned looked up at the sharp angry tone. "No I'm not."

Peter scoffed.

"I'm just saying maybe he has a point. You're only human. Even you need sleep and you can't exactly skip school." Ned argued reasonably.

"I'm not saying I want to stay out all night. I just want to stay out late enough to actually help people. May never cared how late I stayed out." Peter said petulantly.

"You still help people." Ned contended.

"Not as much as I used to. And now I won't get to help anyone this whole week." Peter sighed, already feeling guilty just thinking about it.

Ned hummed and went back to focusing on his model. Peter watched him for awhile, thoughts still buzzing in the silence.

"I don't get it." Ned suddenly stated.

"What?"

"When you break the rules usually you think it through so you won't get caught, but this time you just did what you wanted even though you knew you wouldn't get away with it." Ned glanced up at him.

"What was I supposed to do?" Peter asked with irritation.

"I don't know. Anything else besides outright defying Mr. Stark?" Ned offered lightly. "It's like you did it on purpose. I just can't figure out why."

"I did not." Peter protested but he knew his words lacked conviction.

Ned shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"I _didn't_." He insisted. He hadn't. He'd done it because at the time he'd felt like he had no other choice. He hadn't taken the time to really consider the repercussions of his actions.

"I'm just saying maybe it's something you should think about it."

Peter rolled his eyes from where he hung off the top bunk. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to distract himself by playing a mindless game. It didn't work. Ned's words replayed over and over in his head. Maybe he had a point.

"You're right." Peter said suddenly as he pocketed his phone and flipped off the bunk and onto his feet.

"I am?" Ned frowned up at him.

"I need to figure out a way to go out as Spiderman without Tony knowing. That way I can stay out as late as I want without getting caught." Peter nodded and plopped down so he sat cross-legged in front of Ned.

"That's…not at all what I said." Ned blinked.

"Hear me out." Peter continued, his words coming quickly like they did whenever he got excited about something. "Tony can't watch me all the time. He doesn't even really watch me at all. FRIDAY does."

"I don't like where this is going."

"We just need to figure out a way to hack FRIDAY so she can't spy on me. Then I could come and go as Spiderman whenever I want without Tony knowing!" Peter smiled, surprised he hadn't thought of this solution before.

"What do you mean _we_?"

"Well I can't do it by myself." Peter had a lot of talents but he couldn't hold a candle to Ned when it came to computers and programming.

"Let me get this straight, you want me to hack Tony Stark's AI and make it so you're invisible to her?"

"Yeah!"

"Uh uh. No way. Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" Peter whined. He couldn't do it without Ned.

"First off, if he catches me he'll kill me! Like literally kill me. FRIDAY's like his baby Peter."

"Oh come on he would not." Peter rolled his eyes. "Plus, like you said, he'd have to catch you, and he won't."

"As great as your confidence in me is, I don't think you know what you're asking. I know he's your dad and all now but he's still _Tony Stark_. Hacking his personal AI is probably harder than getting into the Department of Defense."

"Even if you do it from inside the Tower? From his own computer?" Peter prompted.

A considering frown flickered across Ned's face. Yes! Peter knew that look. Ned was part of the way to agreeing. He loved a challenge. Especially a computer one. Peter waited as Ned continued to think.

"I couldn't make you completely invisible." Ned said in a cautious tone.

"But-"

"Let me finish." Ned interrupted. "I couldn't make you invisible because there's no way it'd go unnoticed and it'd be too big of a hack, but I think if I could get into FRIDAY's programming I could add a subroutine that you could trigger. It'd make her think you were in your room and it'd make her ignore any input that contradicts that, so she wouldn't be consciously aware if you snuck out. It'd sort of be like you were temporarily invisible."

"Ned that's perfect!" Peter clamped a hand on his friend's shoulder and shook it in excitement. "When can we do it? Tonight? Tomorrow?"

"I didn't say I'd do it. I just said it's possible."

"Come on Ned. Please. Please please please! Be my guy in the chair." Peter begged.

"Ok fine, but I just want it on record that I think this is a really bad idea." Ned sighed.

"Yes!"

"I need a couple days to write the hack." Ned bit his lip. "And I'd need direct access to Mr. Stark's computer."

"No problem." Peter said. "I already have an idea."

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to come back to bite me in the ass?" Ned griped but Peter could tell he was trying to suppress a smile.

Peter grinned. He felt excited and genuinely happy about something for what felt like the first time in a long time.

* * *

"Dammit dammit dammit." Tony muttered to himself as he dug through the government files on his computer. He couldn't find any hint as to what Ross had been up to the past several months or what he'd been thinking getting involved in the Accords again. The fact that the man had taken such steps to cover his tracks made him nervous and Tony had to admit he was frustrated with himself for not keeping a closer eye on the man.

He'd made the mistake of dismissing Ross as a threat after he'd gone to the press and aired out all the man's dirty secrets and what he'd done to the Avengers, including the Raft. Tony had uncovered his power hungry motivations and he'd proven the man had never cared for the greater good of the world. The public hadn't been happy with the Avengers but they were still their heroes. They'd still saved the world, so showing the brutality with which they'd been treated garnered an outpouring of sympathy. It hadn't taken much for the resounding pressure from the public to make the United Nations throw Ross off the Accords committee. Tony had advocated for applying disciplinary sanctions against him, but the president had stepped in. Apparently he and Ross went way back, they were old war buddy friends.

Tony knew all to well that all that mattered in this world was who you knew, and with the backing of the president, even Tony Stark couldn't get Ross thrown in prison even though it was what he deserved. Corrupt asshole. Just like all of Washington. That was why Tony tried to stay out of politics unless absolutely necessary. Politicians were a bunch of villains themselves. They were all just out for their own self serving interests while trying to act all high and mighty, cloaked in a false veneer of caring about representing the people. Yeah right. Tony was smart enough to know it was all bullshit, and he hated having to deal with them and play their perverse little game.

Tony rubbed his eyes. The meeting with the president had not gone well. Tony had tried to curb his anger but he hadn't quite managed it and the president had gotten defensive. He'd claimed that Ross had told him that the Avengers wouldn't mind if he was involved again with the Accords. That had definitely thrown Tony for a loop. Ross had to know that kind of assertion wouldn't hold for long. It didn't make sense. None of what Ross was doing made any sense.

The president had seemed genuinely surprised when Tony had told him he'd never green lit Ross' re-involvement but instead of taking it all back, he'd told Tony to take it up with Ross himself. Because this whole thing must be some kind of harmless communication issue. Yeah right. Tony knew Ross must have some kind of agenda, but Tony couldn't figure it out and it bothered him. Made him anxious.

Tony hadn't been able to get ahold of Ross because apparently he was out of the country at the moment, but his assistant had agreed to meet with him early the next morning. Tony had texted Peter to let him know he wouldn't be home and then he'd checked into his usual suite at the Four Seasons and had immediately set to work trying to figure out what Ross was up to.

But after hours of research, he was no more enlightened. He hoped the meeting in the morning helped him make better sense of everything but he knew it'd probably be worthless. He felt a pang of guilt at abandoning Peter for the night for what was likely a dead end.

At the thought of Peter, he picked up his phone and glanced at the screen. No missed called or texts. He hadn't really been expecting any after how they'd parted, but it still hurt. He sighed again and scrolled through the contacts on his phone, clicking on Steve.

It only rang twice before he answered. "Hey Tony."

"Hey Cap." He said back before getting straight to business. "So the meeting with president dickhead went about as well as expected."

"So not well at all." Steve deadpanned.

"Exactly." Tony rubbed at his eyes some more. "And I hate to admit it but I can't really make heads or tails of this. Ross told the president we'd ok'd his involvement again."

"What?" Steve asked in disbelief.

"I know. None of this makes any sense. He's up to something and I've tried but I can't…I can't figure it out." His ego took a hit admitting it. "I have a meeting with Ross's assistant tomorrow. I don't think anything will come of it, but I have to try."

"Yeah." Steve agreed with a sigh. "So you're staying there tonight?"

"Apparently. Hey, can you do me a favor and check on Peter for me?"

"Sure. Is he in your suite?"

"He should be. You haven't seen him?"

"Not today."

"Well can you go make sure he's behaving himself and that he ate dinner? He's supposed to be in bed by 11:30pm. And don't cave when he give you the puppy eyes and asks to stay up later. I know how you are."

"I won't." Steve chuckled. "Sam made enchiladas so if he hasn't eaten yet I'll warm up some leftovers for him."

"Thanks. Oh and he's not allowed to go out as Spiderman."

"Why?"

"Because he came back from patrol over two hours past his curfew last night. Remember?"

"Oh yeah that's right." Steve said.

"Yeah," Tony sighed before admitting, "he's pretty pissed at me right now."

"Hmm." Steve said noncommittally.

"What?" Tony asked. He could tell Steve wanted to say something more.

"I was doing some reading the other day and apparently it's fairly normal for kids that are adopted to test boundaries."

"Well this isn't exactly testing boundaries. This is taking a giant sledge hammer to them." Tony complained before the rest of what Steve had said permeated. "Wait. You got this from reading? Reading what?"

"A few books I got at the library about parenting and adoption and how adolescents deal with loss." Steve said nonchalantly. Of course Steve still got books from the library. He had practically unlimited amounts of money at his disposal but he still chose to borrow books.

"When did you get them?"

"A couple weeks ago." When Peter started acting up.

"Are they any good?" Tony asked, curious.

"I think so. You can borrow them if you want." Steve offered.

Tony repressed the urge to automatically object to any help. Honestly, at this point he needed all the help he could get.

"Thanks. I'm…actually going to take you up on that. Well metaphorically take you up on it since I don't actually read used books. Too many germs and…yeah anyway, text me the titles so I can have FRIDAY order them." Tony said evenly. There was an extended pause where Steve took in the fact that Tony was actually accepting help.

"Ok. I will." Steve cleared his throat and continued awkwardly. "Um…you and Peter. You'll be ok."

Tony wanted to snap at him that of course they'd be ok, but he held it in. Steve meant well. Tony knew he just wanted to help.

"Thanks Cap." Tony let his appreciation show.

"Of course. I'll talk to you later." Steve said.

"Yeah. Later." Tony said and then thumbed the end call button.

Tony had just enough time to order room service, lie down on the bed, and turn on the TV before his phone rang again. He frowned when he saw the caller ID on the screen said Steve.

"Steve?" He answered.

"Tony. Listen. I went upstairs and Peter wasn't there. I asked FRIDAY and she said he hasn't come home yet. And his suit is still here." Steve sounded out of breath.

"Dammit." Tony swore and jumped out of bed. "I'm going to have to call you back."

Tony didn't wait for a response before he hung up on Steve and dialed Peter's number as he started pacing. Oh god. Did Peter run away after their fight? Did he go out as Spiderman without his suit? His heart clenched at that thought. The memories of what happened the last time Peter went out in his homemade suit churned over in his mind.

The phone rang until it went to voicemail. Tony cursed again, hung up and redialed. If Peter didn't answer this time he was going to have to take the suit back to New York and use FRIDAY to start searching for his kid, screw tomorrow's meeting.

On the fifth ring, Peter answered. "Tony?"

"Where are you?" Tony snapped, relief and anger warring for position for most prominent emotion.

"I'm at Ned's. He invited me over for dinner." Peter answered but Tony could hear the irritation in his voice.

Tony glanced at his watch. "It's nine thirty."

"So? You said I couldn't go out as Spiderman, not that I was grounded." Peter said defiantly.

Tony grit his teeth. God this kid.

"You're not grounded but you know you're supposed to let me know whenever you go somewhere instead of home." Tony tried to explain reasonably, using every ounce of self control to push his irritation down. He knew if this were anyone but Peter he'd be yelling by now.

"Why? You're not home anyway. It's not like you'd notice." Peter scoffed. And wow. Tony was momentarily taken aback by the insolence.

"Obviously I did notice. And I don't appreciate the attitude." Tony said tersely, trying to keep his anger under control. He had way more patience when it came to Peter but it wasn't infinite.

"Well I'm at Ned's. Consider yourself notified." Peter responded with uncharacteristic sarcasm.

"Peter." Tony chastised.

"What?" Peter asked curtly.

"I'm stuck in DC tonight but I want you to go home." Tony tried to soften his tone so it didn't sound like a command.

"Why? If you're not coming home, why can't I just stay at Ned's?"

"Because it's a school night."

"So?"

"You know the rules."

"Yeah well your rules are stupid." Peter huffed.

What? Tony was completely taken aback. He couldn't believe they were fighting again. And over what?

"Peter." Tony said, keeping his voice low and even instead of yelling like he wanted. "You're going to head home _right now_. You hear me sport?"

"You can't make me. I'm staying at Ned's." Peter said and then he hung up.

Tony stared at the phone in his hand in disbelief for a few long seconds before fury set in. What. The. Fuck. He couldn't make him? Oh yes he could. He dialed Peter's number again. And then again when he didn't answer. On the third try he left a voicemail.

"Peter Benjamin Parker. You call me back right now or I swear to god I'll come over there and drag you home myself. You know I will." He said with more venom than he'd ever spoken to Peter before. He'd never addressed Peter by his full name before either. That used to be a favorite technique of his mother's. She used to call him Anthony Edward Stark whenever she was really angry. Doing it to Peter had been instinctual.

He sat back down on the bed and set his phone on the nightstand. He'd give the kid ten minutes and if he hadn't called back by then he fully intended to head back to New York and follow through on the threat.

Nine minutes passed before his phone rang.

"Are you on your way home?" Tony asked when he answered.

"You're an asshole." Peter spat.

"And you're grounded." Tony spat right back before he forced himself to take a deep breath and try to calm down.

"Fuck you." Peter replied and Tony almost dropped the phone in shock. Peter had never ever spoken to him like that before.

"No Spiderman for two weeks." Tony said once he'd recovered. "You want to keep going?"

Silence greeted him. He checked his phone screen. They were still connected. At least Peter hadn't hung up on him again.

"No?" Tony prodded. "All right then. If you're done having your little temper tantrum or whatever this is I want you to go home. And call me when you get there. You have thirty minutes. If you're not home by then I'm adding another week to your grounding."

"I hate you." Peter snapped.

"No you don't." Tony said instantly in response. Hearing those words from Peter stung even more now than the first time he'd said them, but Tony knew better this time. He knew Peter didn't hate him. Could never hate him. Knew his kid was just angry and trying to hurt him.

Peter didn't respond.

"I love you Peter." Tony said and let the genuine affection he felt for his son seep through in the sentence. "Call me when you get home."

"Fine." Peter snapped again and then the call ended.

Tony stabbed his fingers into his closed eyes to stem the prickling of tears he felt forming. He didn't know what the hell was going on with his kid but it seemed to just keep getting worse. He felt like he was failing his son. And he didn't know what to do to fix it.

Twenty five minutes later his phone rang as Tony was taking a bite of his room service cheeseburger. He grabbed it expecting to see Peter's name but swore when he saw it was Steve. He'd forgotten to call him back to let him know he'd found Peter.

"Steve?" He answered.

"Tony." Steve said in reply. "Peter just got back. He uh wanted me to call you and let you know."

"Oh. Thanks. Sorry I forgot to tell you I found him."

"It's fine. Is everything all right? Peter seems…not himself."

"He doesn't want to talk to me." Tony guessed.

"Um…no. That's uh putting it lightly."

"We'll be fine." Tony said with confidence he didn't feel. "But I'm definitely going to need the names of those books."

"Of course." Steve said without judgment. "I'll text them to you right now."

"Thanks. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Have a good night Tony. I'll make sure Peter gets to bed ok."

"Good night Cap." Tony said and hung up.

He made quick work of his cheeseburger and then brushed his teeth and crawled into bed. He hated leaving anything unresolved especially when it pertained to Peter, but there wasn't much he could do from here. He'd deal with this whole mess tomorrow after his meeting. Until then, he'd have to be patient.

No matter how many times he tried to reassure himself that he'd fix it and it'd be ok, he still tossed and turned and worried. Even though he was exhausted, it still took him hours to fall asleep.

* * *

A/N: I know everyone's waiting for the two of them to talk and I promise it's coming in the next chapter! Thank you for all the feedback. I love hearing what you guys think!


	8. Chapter 8

Peter paused as he walked down the stairs outside of school. His spidey sense tingled uncomfortably. He glanced around but didn't see any obvious imminent danger to himself or anyone around him. Everyone was spilling out of school, glad to be done for the day, including Peter. MJ had hijacked their lunch hour to fit in decathlon practice so they didn't have to stay late after school and could start their three day weekend early. They had tomorrow off because of some teacher workshop day, but it wasn't a completely a free weekend for them. The decathlon team had a competition on Saturday, the last one before nationals next week.

"What's wrong dude?" Ned asked from a couple steps down, where he'd stopped when he realized Peter wasn't following.

"I don't know." Peter frowned. The tingling didn't get worse but it didn't get better either. It'd never done this before. Usually it acted like a fast, sharp warning that he reacted to instinctively, and after the danger ended, it went away. This odd tingling made him twitchy and anxious, like his body wanted to run or evade a threat he couldn't see.

"Peter?" Ned prompted and walked back up to stand at his side.

Peter continued to study his surroundings but he couldn't find anything suspicious or out of place. He shook his head but the sense of an unseen danger remained. Maybe his spider sense was acting up. He wondered if it could do that.

"You ok?"

"Yeah." Peter answered distractedly.

"You sure?" Ned frowned at him.

"Yeah." Peter said with more resolve. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's go."

He continued down the stairs, still on edge waiting for the moment the danger would make itself known and his spider sense would spike.

"Do you want to come over this weekend? Maybe after the meet on Saturday?" Ned asked once they reached the bottom of the steps.

"I can't. I'm grounded."

"What? Why?"

"I got in a fight with Tony."

" _Dude._ Over what?"

"Something stupid." Peter admitted without going into the details, still half distracted by the tingling of his spidey sense.

Ned shook his head. "What's been going on with you man? You don't fight with Tony."

"I know." Peter sighed. He felt a twinge of guilt at the memory of what he'd said to his adopted father. He didn't even know why he'd said what he had. He'd just been so mad and frustrated.

"Are you sure you want me to do this hack?" Ned hedged.

"Yes." Peter replied without hesitation.

"Fine. I'll work on it tonight. I should be able to get it done this weekend."

"Thanks Ned." Peter smirked. "You may remain my guy in the chair."

"Ha ha." Ned said dryly. "Text me later."

"I will." Peter agreed. Maybe Ned could come over this weekend. He didn't know if Tony meant he was grounded so he couldn't see Ned at all or just couldn't leave the Tower. He'd have to feel it out. If Tony even came home. If he didn't, Peter was definitely inviting Ned over.

"Bye Peter." Ned threw him another smile and then headed home.

"Bye." Peter said with his own half smile before heading to the subway that would take him within a block of the Tower. He wanted to enjoy his brief freedom while he could. He texted Happy to let him know that decathlon practice had been cancelled and he was already on his way home and didn't need a ride.

He kept glancing around and over his shoulder the entire walk to the subway because the annoying tingling had yet to abate. When he took the steps underground he expected the feeling to follow him, but after a few moments it disappeared. Odd. He was too relieved it was gone to think too much about it. He boarded the next subway and got on, riding it to the stop near the Tower. He walked slowly the rest of the way, happy when the annoying tingling didn't return. He strode through the lobby toward the elevator and gave Bob, the security officer at the front desk a little wave, which the man returned with a smile.

As soon as the elevator doors opened to the penthouse, Peter walked in and dropped his backpack with a sigh before heading to the fridge to get a drink. He grabbed a bottle of Gatorade, uncapped it and chugged half of it. He twisted the cap back on and started walking toward the living room before he noticed Tony sitting on the couch. Waiting for him.

"Oh." Peter said in surprise. "You're home."

"I'm home." Tony replied evenly without much emotion, taking Peter in.

Peter hesitated, not sure if he was welcome to join the man after the fight they'd had. He couldn't really believe he'd spoken to Tony the way he had, and he didn't really know why except that he'd been irrationally angry and not himself. He hadn't felt much like himself at all recently.

Tony seemed to sense his hesitation.

"Come here kiddo." Tony said welcomingly, patting the couch cushion next to him.

"How did your um meeting go?" Peter stumbled over the question as he slowly walked to the couch, feeling oddly like a lamb heading to slaughter even though Tony's face didn't hold a hint of anger.

"Fine." Tony answered without elaborating further, which was unlike him, so either he didn't want Peter to know about it or he had something else on his mind. Peter had a bad feeling it was the latter.

Peter sat hesitantly on the cushion Tony had indicated, fiddling with the cap on his Gatorade as a distraction so he didn't have to meet Tony's eyes.

"How was school?" Tony asked nonchalantly.

"Um good. Great. Fine. It-it was fine." Peter stuttered nervously. It'd been easy to swear and yell at Tony when he'd been on the phone last night and the distance had seemed to disconnect him from the reality of it. But now when he was confronted with the man in front of him, the man who'd done so much for him, it made the guilt swell. Peter set the Gatorade on the coffee table because he was sure his nervous toying with it was giving him away.

"Peter." Tony said his name with a heavy sigh and out of the corner of his eye Peter could see him run a hand down his face before he reached out and wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders. Tony seemed to hesitate for a moment, probably waiting for him to pull away, but when he didn't resist the contact, Tony tugged him against his side. Peter went easily. Resisting didn't even cross his mind.

"Kiddo." Tony said, voice soft as he pulled him even closer and put his other arm around him in a warm embrace. Peter automatically reciprocated, wrapping his own arms around the man and burying his face into Tony's chest, inhaling his characteristic scent. One he'd come to associate with comfort, with safety, with _dad_.

Peter closed his eyes as he felt tears prickle behind them at the care, the love Tony was showing him even after how poorly he'd treated him.

"We need to talk." Tony said into his hair and Peter scrunched his eyes closed even tighter and tried to pull away. Tony didn't let him go.

"You haven't been yourself." Tony continued. "And I let it slide for awhile because I thought maybe you just needed some time…but it's not working buddy."

Peter shook his head stubbornly.

"It's not." Tony insisted.

A long couple minutes passed in silence. Neither of them spoke but Peter didn't try to pull away again.

"Talk to me kid." Tony mumbled into his hair. "What's going on?"

The prickling behind his eyes intensified even as he denied a problem existed. "N-nothing."

Tony rubbed a hand over his back. "You're a terrible liar. What's wrong?"

Peter remained stubbornly silent. Even if he wanted to talk, he didn't know where to begin.

"I know something's been bothering you." Tony tried again. "This isn't you. You don't purposely disobey me. You don't swear at me."

"You're a good kid." Tony continued warmly with absolute certainty. Like there could never be any question to the truth of that statement.

Peter couldn't help it. He started crying.

"Oh kiddo." Tony muttered and pressed a kiss to the top his head. "Tell me what's wrong. Please. Let me help."

"You can't." Peter cried into his chest.

"I promise I can." Tony argued.

Peter shook his head. "How can you say that? You d-don't even know what the problem is."

"No, but I know I can help. It's a dad thing."

Hearing Tony call himself that made Peter lose control again. It served as a reminder that he'd refused to call Tony that, to think of Tony as his dad over the past couple weeks.

"I'm sorry." Peter forced out the apology through his sobs.

"For what?"

"For-for everything. For how I've been acting. For what I said. I didn't mean it."

"I know." Tony ran a comforting hand through his hair.

"I was mad."

"I know."

"It wasn't even all about that." Peter whimpered. "It was other stuff."

"What other stuff?" Tony prompted.

"I've just been— I've just felt so—" Peter stopped with a sniffle.

"You've felt…" Tony encouraged patiently.

"Guilty. I've been feeling…really guilty lately." Peter managed to get it out.

Somehow having his face pressed against Tony's chest so he didn't have to look him in the eye and see his expression made it easier to admit what had been going on in his head. He wondered if Tony had purposely orchestrated their position for that very reason.

"Guilty about what?" Tony asked softly as he ran fingers through his locks. It was oddly soothing and the tenseness that had overcome him after admitting something was wrong started to remit.

Peter chewed the inside of his lip as he tried to sort out how to even begin to explain it.

"Peter?" Tony prompted.

"I'm forgetting them." He whispered as tears slipped silently down his cheeks.

Tony's hand paused momentarily in its ministrations with his hair. "Oh buddy no. You're not."

"I am." Peter mumbled. "Sometimes I go days without thinking about them. After everything they did for me I should think about them every day. All the time. And I-I don't. And I've been happy. How can I be happy when they're dead? And when it's my fault. I don't deserve to be happy ever again."

He started crying in earnest again with the ramble of word vomit that erupted from him.

"Oh Peter." Tony kissed the top of his head again. "It's ok to move on with your life. They loved you. It's what they'd want. And it's ok if you don't think about them everyday. That doesn't mean you've forgotten them. You'll never forget them. I promise, ok?"

Peter nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet. Tony pushed him back so Peter couldn't avoid his face anymore.

Peter rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to erase the tears there.

"And what happened to them wasn't your fault." Tony said with more steel.

Peter shook his head violently in denial. "I-it was. If they'd never taken me in they'd both be alive right now."

"You don't know that."

"I do! Aunt May never would've gotten in that car accident and Uncle Ben never would've gotten s-shot." Peter lamented.

"Neither of those things was your fault." Tony tried to reason with him.

"Y-you don't even know what happened with Ben." Peter argued. At least as far as he knew, Tony didn't. Unless he'd looked into it himself or May had told him before she'd died. He'd never talked about it with Tony.

"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some asshole shot him a couple blocks from a gas station he'd just robbed." Tony said. Apparently he did.

"Unless you helped the guy pull the trigger, I don't see how that could be your fault." Tony said confidently as he wiped Peter's tears away with his thumbs.

"I was there." Peter whispered and ducked his head, unable to meet Tony's eyes anymore.

"What? You were…you were where?" Peter flicked his gaze up and saw Tony's gobsmacked expression. Tony obviously didn't know the whole story. He must've just looked up the public records on Ben's death.

"I was at that gas station. The cashier was a jerk to me and when that guy robbed him I-I didn't get in the way. I…I let him go. Even though I could've stopped him. If I hadn't let him go he never would've shot… I wouldn't have found Uncle Ben bleeding on the-on the sidewalk… Uncle Ben he-he wouldn't have…"

"You're the one that found him?" Tony sounded shook up.

"Yeah he…I-I watched him die." Peter said. "There was nothing I could do."

"Jesus." Tony whispered.

"See? I'm like a curse." Peter tried to warn him. "Y-you should stay away from me."

"Never." Tony said vehemently and pulled Peter back into a hug so tight it bordered on painful. "I'm never letting you go kid."

"You should. I-I've been terrible to you."

"You're my son Peter. My _son._ I couldn't love you any more than I already do even if you were biologically mine and I'd raised you your entire life." Tony said with absolute certainty. "There's nothing you could _ever_ do that will change that. _Nothing_. Understand?"

"But I don't d-deserve it. I don't deserve you. I shouldn't get to be happy."

"Bullshit. I call bullshit kid." Tony argued. "First off, if there's anyone who's not deserving, it's me, not you. I definitely don't deserve you, but I don't care. You're mine anyway. No take backs."

"Tony—"

"Nuh uh the adult's not done talking." Tony interrupted before Peter could dispute the previous statement. "Second, I obviously never met your uncle and I didn't know your aunt very well, but I know they'd want you to be happy. They'd want you to move on with your life."

"How do you know?"

"Because if anything ever happened to me, it's what I would want for you." Tony answered simply.

Peter flinched and squeezed Tony harder at that thought, as if he could keep the man with him forever by his arms and will alone.

"But I just I-I feel like they died and instead of suffering in some foster home like I should be, _you_ adopted me and I live in the nicest building in New York with all the Avengers and it-it feels like…like a dream. But I… I shouldn't-I shouldn't get to _profit_ from their deaths. It's…wrong."

Tony took a deep breath and the silence reverberated for a long beat and then another before Tony grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back so they were face to face.

"Peter. Kiddo. Listen to me." Tony said, face serious. "Losing your aunt and uncle was terrible. Absolutely terrible. Terrible shit luck. It's not something you chose to happen to you. It just did. And how things shook out afterward…ending up with me…it's not something you should feel guilty about."

"But I do feel guilty. I can't help it." Peter mumbled miserably.

"You feel guilty about me? That I'm your dad? Is that it?" Peter could see the slight hurt in Tony's eyes even though he asked the questions without judgment.

"It's um it's…part of it." Peter winced at the poorly hidden crestfallen look on Tony's face. "I'm sorry! It's just…you're _you_ and I'm… _me_."

Tony frowned. "I'm not following you kid."

"You're…Tony Stark and I'm-I'm just some nobody kid from Queens." Peter didn't know why that needed to be explained.

"You're not a nobody kid from Queens. You're my son." Tony argued with surprising vehemence.

"I mean maybe now, but before-"

"Um excuse me, _maybe_?" Tony interrupted, affronted.

"You know what I mean."

"Pretty sure I signed those adoption papers, so I don't see where the maybe qualifier fits in here."

"Just…let me finish." Peter really needed to get this out before he lost his train of thought or his nerve. "You're…Tony Stark."

"Yeah we covered that kid." Tony flashed him a small amused smile.

Peter ignored the interruption and the attempt to lighten the mood. "Everyone knows you. You singlehandedly created arc reactor technology and used it to power clean energy. Not to mention, you're Ironman. You're like everyone's hero."

Tony made a little noise as if he wanted to protest but held back. Peter knew that for all Tony liked to portray an air of easy confidence, he was actually really hard on himself.

"You are." Peter insisted, voice quieter. "And you're…you're my hero. Most days I still can't really believe you adopted me. That you'd actually want me. When I'm nothing…nothing special."

" _Peter_." Tony said harshly and gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Look at me."

Peter reluctantly dragged his eyes up to meet Tony's.

"There are a lot of things I've done in my life that I'm not proud of. That I regret." Tony admitted.

Peter swallowed hard.

"You will never be one of those things." Tony stated resolutely. "Adopting you was the best decision I ever made."

Peter sniffled as his eyes welled up again.

"You _are_ special. You're an amazing kid. You're smart. And funny. And you have such a good heart. When you got these powers, instead of selfishly using them to become a star athlete, you decided it was your duty to go out and defend your neighborhood in your pajamas."

Peter gave him a watery smile. "They weren't pajamas."

Tony gave him a skeptical look. "Close enough."

Tony studied his face for a few more seconds before he spoke again, more seriously. "I'm glad you told me what's been going on in that noggin of yours. Now that I know, we can work on it together." Tony brushed his hands up and down Peter's arms in encouragement.

Peter frowned. "How?"

"By _talking_ about things instead of bottling them up."

Peter snorted in disbelief.

"Hey. Truth time. Do you feel better?"

"Yeah I-I guess." Surprisingly, he did.

"See? I told you I'd make things better." Tony grinned and then tugged him in for a hug.

"Yeah thanks da-Tony." Even after the talk he still couldn't let the name pass through his lips. He felt Tony tense at the obvious slip.

"Kiddo." Tony said, voice thick with sadness.

Peter opened his mouth to try to explain or to apologize or to just say something, but Tony continued before he could. "We're going to work on that too."

Peter buried his face against Tony's chest in shame. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Tony said instantly and rubbed a hand up and down his back. "Everything's going to be ok."

Peter tightened his hold. He wasn't sure if how he was feeling was something that could be fixed, but he wanted more than anything to believe Tony.

"Hey." Tony said after a few moments as he pressed another kiss to the top of his head. "What do you say we spend the rest of the day down in the workshop? Just you and me?"

"Really?" Peter pulled away to look Tony in the eye. He had a hard time holding back his excitement. "But I thought I still wasn't allowed down there?"

"I've been waiting for you to ask." Tony ruffled his hair. "It's been two months kid. You've done your time."

"And you're going to let me go down there even though I'm grounded again?" Peter asked hesitantly. He didn't want Tony to change his mind.

"You don't need to leave the Tower to go to the workshop do you?" Tony asked as he stood.

"No?" Peter frowned.

"Then it obviously doesn't count." Tony said flippantly.

"Obviously." Peter said with a smile.

"Come on kiddo." Tony grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go tinker."

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had internet and re-write problems. But Tony and Peter finally talked so hopefully that makes up for the long wait? I appreciate any feedback!


	9. Chapter 9

Peter groaned as the light bored into his eyelids. Why was the sun punishing him? Usually he made sure to close his blinds before going to bed. He pried his eyes open and squinted at his alarm clock. It flashed 10:14AM. Huh. How late had he stayed up last night? He and Tony had spent the whole evening in the workshop. They'd ordered pizza and worked on Tony's suit updates and brainstormed ways to improve Peter's webshooters. The last thing Peter remembered was toying with his webshooter designs. And then…nothing. Shit. He must've fallen asleep.

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes Peter?"

"How'd I get here?"

"Mr. Stark escorted you from the workshop to your bedroom last night."

"You mean he carried me." Peter clarified dryly.

"Yes."

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I figured. Thanks FRIDAY."

"You're welcome Peter."

He was surprised he didn't remember it. Usually he at least sort of woke up or had some vague memory of it when Tony carried him to bed, but he was drawing a complete blank. He really must have been out cold.

Peter rolled out of bed, pulled on his black sweatpants from the floor and then grabbed his grey Stark Industries hoodie off the back of his desk chair. He gave it a quick sniff to make sure it was still wearable and threw it on before trudging out to the living room, which was empty. No sign of Tony. Oh right. It was Friday. He probably had to work.

"FRIDAY where's Tony?" He asked, curious, as he tugged the fridge door open.

"He is in the common room."

"Oh." Peter said as he grabbed a yogurt, pried the top off and started eating it. "Is he working?"

"He is not engaged in any business related to Stark Industries." FRIDAY answered rather cryptically. Odd.

Peter didn't think too hard about it. He inhaled the rest of the yogurt and then scrounged through the cupboards to find a protein bar and started to take that down too, hoping it'd be enough to quiet the bottomless pit of his stomach. As he settled on the bar stool at the breakfast bar, he noticed a Stark phone sitting there. He picked it up curiously. Tony usually didn't leave his phone lying around. Maybe one of the other Avengers had accidentally left it.

Peter thumbed the screen and the lock screen background lit up. He blinked when he was met with a picture of himself. It was a profile shot of him sitting in Tony's convertible. His arm rested loosely on the door as he laughed heartily, wind tousling his hair. He had dark Ray Ban wayfarer sunglasses on and he was just starting to turn toward the camera. Between the sunglasses and the side view, the photo kept his face vague enough so that a stranger looking at the picture wouldn't be able to identify him, but to anyone who knew him, it was obvious. It was a good picture. Peter remembered when Tony had taken it. It'd been over the summer while they still lived at the compound. After dinner one day, Tony had taken him out for a joyride. He couldn't remember what he'd been laughing about when Tony had snapped the picture, but he could remember how happy he'd felt.

Seeing that Tony had chosen a picture of him as his phone's lock screen struck a chord in him. Tony must really love him. The evidence of it sent a shot of warmth through him. Tony probably looked at his phone screen a hundred times a day, and in return Peter had been avoiding him and treating him like crap. Guilt crashed over him, overshadowing any previous good feelings, as he carefully set the phone back down.

As soon as he finished his granola bar, he went back to his room to brush his teeth and then made his way down to the common room to see what Tony was doing. Apparently the talk yesterday must have helped because Peter couldn't remember the last time he'd sought Tony out instead of trying to avoid him.

He wasn't expecting the sight that greeted him once the elevator doors opened. The entire Avengers team was gathered in the common room, some sat on the couches and some stood, but it became clear to Peter that this wasn't some leisurely hang out. A tense atmosphere permeated the room.

Peter glanced around and everyone's faces held solemn or perturbed expressions. A spark of fear ignited within him. What was going on? No one had spotted him yet so he took a couple quiet steps forward, trying to remain unnoticed as he hesitantly exited the elevator.

"You spent two days in DC Stark and you can't give us anything?" Clint growled and Peter's jaw dropped at the open hostility.

"I told you everything I know." Tony snapped. "And you're welcome for all the time and effort I'm once again putting in to try to save our asses."

"Yeah it really took a lot of effort." Clint rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Tony said, affronted. "I didn't see anyone else here volunteering!"

"You three weren't even here." Tony accused, pointing at Scott, Wanda, and Vision.

"Hey man I was with my kid." Scott argued.

"We're here now Stark." Wanda growled. "And yet you have nothing for us."

"Listen sweetheart—"

"Careful Stark." Wanda warned, lifting a hand and writhing her fingers, redness flickering between them.

Peter was just about to take another step forward to be closer to protect his dad if need be, when Natasha interrupted in a bored tone. "Can we please try to focus?"

"Nat's right." Cap chimed in. "We've fought amongst ourselves enough already. We're not going to do it again."

"Damn right." Sam agreed.

"Maybe that's Ross's goal." Bruce suggested. "Maybe he wants to cause dissention again."

"Well we're not going to fall for it." Rhodey said angrily. "And he'd be stupid to think so."

"Ross is a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them." Steve said.

"I agree." Nat pursed her lips. "I don't think that's his play. There has to be another reason."

"Perhaps—" Vision started.

"Peter." Steve said in surprise when he noticed him across the room. Shit. So much for remaining unseen.

"Peter? What does Peter have to do with this?" Tony asked Steve, confused.

"No." Steve shook his head then pointed right at him. "Peter."

Tony turned on his heel from where he stood and frowned when his eyes met Peter's. "When did you get here?"

"Um like just…now?" He hated that his voice squeaked.

Natasha snorted.

"God kid." Clint laughed.

"Tony I hate to break it to you but your kid's a horrible liar." Rhodey chuckled.

Tony ran an exasperated hand down his face. "Believe me I know."

"Hey!" Peter protested indignantly. "I'm not-I'm not lying."

"Yeah man you really need to work on that with him." Sam joked.

"I would but I think I like it better this way." Tony said as he stalked toward him.

"I'll be right back." Tony told the rest of the room as he clapped hand on his shoulder and guided him back toward the elevator. "The penthouse FRIDAY."

"So, what did you hear?" Tony asked as soon as the elevator doors closed behind them.

"N-nothing." Peter stuttered. The Avengers were right. He really needed to learn how to lie.

"Peter." Tony said sternly.

"Just something about you going to DC and some arguing and some guy named Ross." He admitted.

Tony studied him closely.

"That's it." Peter held up his hands. "I swear!"

The doors opened and Tony nudged him out.

"I believe you." Tony said as they both stepped into the penthouse.

"So uh what's going on?" Peter asked as he turned around to face Tony. "It seemed pretty serious."

"I don't want you to worry about it."

"You don't think I should be in the loop?" Peter asked indignantly. Something that involved the entire team, was obviously distressing the entire team, was something he felt like he should know about.

"No."

"Oh come on!"

"This is Avengers business kid. I want you to stay out of it." Tony said.

"But I'm practically an Avenger!"

"No you're not."

"I could help."

"Peter trust me. We've got this."

"It didn't look like it." Peter grumbled.

"It's our process." Tony said. "You wouldn't know it since you're _not an Avenger_ but that's how we do things."

"By arguing?" Peter raised an eyebrow.

"By discussing." Tony corrected.

"It sure seemed like arguing." Peter crossed his arms, letting the skepticism show on his face.

"Don't you have homework?" Tony asked abruptly.

"No." Peter huffed. "And don't change the subject. I just want to know what's going on."

"It's a problem for the grown ups to handle. Which means not you, so stop asking." Tony lessened the harshness of the words by ruffling his hair.

Peter tried to glare at him but it must not have been very convincing because Tony just smirked.

"Now, I have to go back downstairs to finish the discussion you interrupted. You stay here." Tony ordered.

"It's not like I did it on purpose. I was just looking for you." Peter protested.

"I know kiddo." Tony flashed him a genuine smile. It was obvious he wasn't mad. "And I'll be back as soon as I can. Why don't you tee up a movie and when I get back we can finish watching it together."

"Fine." Peter agreed but dragged his feet to show his displeasure as he walked to the couch and flopped backwards onto it with an exasperated sigh. He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned on the TV.

Tony chuckled and Peter heard him walk away while he surfed the movie options. "Hang tight kid. I'll be right back."

Peter grunted in acknowledgement while he surfed the movie options. A second later Peter smirked when he found the perfect movie just as the elevator door closed. Harry Potter. Tony would hate it. He despised magic. But he'd have to sit through it because he'd said he would. Peter figured maybe he could play it up and stretch it into a back to back movie marathon. Seemed like fair retribution. Peter grinned and pressed play.

* * *

Tony groaned as the ringing of his phone woke him up.

"FRIDAY what time is it?" He croaked and rolled over, reaching blindly for his phone on the nightstand.

"It is 3:15AM Boss."

Tony groaned again. Who was calling him in the middle of the night? Peter was asleep in his bedroom, the entire team was here, and Pepper never called him at this time unless it was a true emergency. After a couple misses, he managed to snag his phone and brought it to his face, squinting at the screen. He frowned when an unknown number met his eyes. Someone probably had the wrong number. He ignored the call and set the phone back on his nightstand.

He buried his face back into his pillow. He needed sleep. It'd been a long day. The team hadn't gotten anywhere after all their discussions and then Peter had tortured him with stupid wizard movies for hours. He'd finally gotten to escape when Pepper had stopped by to go over SI business, and it was one of the few times Tony could remember being truly happy to deal with paperwork.

At least Peter hadn't pestered him anymore about what was going on, and his kid had actually spent the entire day with him for the first time in weeks. He took that as a true win, but he still hadn't figured out what else to do to help him. Peter had seemed better today but he still wasn't back to normal.

His phone started ringing again and interrupted his thoughts. Someone sure was persistent. He snatched it off the nightstand. It was the same number from before. He didn't want whoever was on the other end to keep calling all night and waking him up trying to get ahold of their girlfriend of boyfriend or whatever. He sighed and thumbed the answer button and brought the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He answered, voice rough with sleep.

"I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your beauty sleep?" The voice on the other end said, sounding wide awake and harsh.

Tony sat straight up in bed, his sleep haze instantly evaporating.

"Ross." He greeted coldly.

"My assistant told me you needed to speak with me urgently." Ross continued.

"And yet it still took you two days to call me." Tony retorted.

"So sorry." Ross said sarcastically. "The cell reception is a little spotty where I am."

"And where is that exactly?" Tony fished.

"Classified." Ross deadpanned. "And don't bother trying to trace the call. The line I'm using is untraceable."

"Sounds like a challenge."

Ross snorted. "Whatever floats your boat Stark. Now what do you want? I'm a busy man."

"You know what I want." Tony growled, anger flaring.

Ross had the gall to chuckle. "As flattering as it is to know you think I'm skilled enough to read minds, I'm actually not. You're going to have to spell it out for me. Use your words. Shouldn't be too hard for you. We both know how much you like to talk."

Tony grit his teeth. He knew Ross knew exactly what he wanted to discuss. He hated having to play these stupid games.

"What are you up to with this new Accords business, huh? Because correct me if I'm wrong but I thought someone – me – got the UN to irrevocably throw you off the committee. So imagine my surprise when these new amendments or sanctions or whatever you're calling them, including your reinstatement, landed on my desk." Tony said.

"Straight to the point I see. I always admired that about you Stark." Ross chuckled again, not seeming at all concerned.

"When you're done blowing sunshine up my ass I'd like a straight answer." Tony said impatiently.

"I'm sorry. Did you actually ask a question? I thought you were just summarizing." Ross drolled.

"Yeah here's my question. What the fuck do you think you're doing? Because last I checked, you're out Ross. Out. And you're staying that way. Speaking on behalf of the Avengers, we officially refuse your amendments and your reinstatement, so whatever you're trying to do here, you can just forget it! Go crawl back under whatever rock you escaped from." Tony growled.

"Are you finished?"

Tony said nothing in reply.

"Listen Tony." Ross started and Tony hated that he could hear the smile in his tone. "You don't know it yet, but I hold all the cards. So this can go either one of two ways. You and your merry band of miscreants—"

"Superheroes." Tony corrected obnoxiously.

"Can agree to the proposal I sent you." Ross continued, ignoring the interruption. "Or you can refuse and I can make that very _very_ bad for you."

"Are you threatening me?" Tony snarled.

Ross, the motherfucker, chuckled again. "I'm just giving you your options."

"Sure sounded like a threat to me, and you should know General Jackass that I'm not a man who responds well to threats."

"And you should know, Stark, that I'm not a man that makes idle threats." Ross warned.

"So you admit it was a threat." Tony quipped.

"I can promise you that if you don't put me back in power and agree to the amendments I proposed, you will never regret anything more in your life." Ross said icily.

"Oh yeah? And just what are you going to do to me?" Tony scoffed, not afraid at all of the empty posturing.

"I can't tell you."

"Yeah that's real convincing." Tony snorted.

"I can't tell you because then I'll lose my leverage." Ross explained slowly as if he was talking to a toddler. "You don't let your opponent see your hand when you're holding a royal flush."

"Didn't know you were a poker fan." Tony joked reflexively but it came out weak.

"And trust me Stark," Ross ignored his comment, "I _am_ holding a royal flush."

Tony felt the first trickle of fear at that statement, said with absolute certainty.

"Now," Ross continued, more jovial, "I'm a reasonable man so I'm not going to make you decide right now. Talk it over with your groupies. I'll be back in the States next week so you can give me your answer in person."

"Just to clarify, is it just me that will be sorry or all the Avengers?" Tony asked lightly.

"All of them, but mostly you." Ross answered ominously.

"Great. So we're done here?" Tony let his tone drip with sarcasm.

"For now." Ross replied. "My secretary will give you a call to set up the meeting."

"Uh huh. Looking forward to it." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Always a pleasure Stark." Ross growled.

"Yeah I can't say the same." Tony said and hung up, stabbing the end call button harder than necessary.

"FRIDAY, did you get a trace on that call?" Tony asked as he rubbed his temples, feeling a migraine coming on.

"I'm sorry boss but my attempts were unsuccessful." FRIDAY answered.

"Son of a bitch." Tony swore in part surprise and part anger. He couldn't remember the last time he'd failed at tracing a call. He needed to look into that. He stood and the pounding in his head reached new levels of ouch. Ok, maybe he could look into it later, once his head wasn't threatening to explode. Right now he needed some Excedrin and he needed to talk to…Steve.

"FRIDAY get Steve up here pronto." Tony ordered as he shuffled to his bathroom and winced when he turned the lights on to the dimmest setting. He wasted no time grabbing his pills and washing them down with a glass of water before crawling back in bed.

It was only a few minutes later before there was a knock on his door.

"Come in Cap." He said into his pillow.

"Tony?" Steve inquired as he opened the door. "FRIDAY said you wanted to see me."

"Sorry if I woke you up." Tony said but didn't move to look at Steve.

"It's fine." Steve reassured him. Tony felt his bed dip as Steve perched on the edge of it.

"Are you ok Tony?" Steve asked uncertainly at the uncharacteristic behavior.

"Migraine." Tony explained simply.

"Oh. Are you-are you ok? Do you need me to get you something?" Steve offered, probably thinking that's why Tony had called him up here in the middle of the night.

"No. I just took some Excedrin. That's not why I asked you to come up here." Tony explained.

"Ok." Steve said simply. He didn't demand to know why he was there then. He just waited patiently for Tony to explain.

"I just got off the phone with Ross. Thus, the migraine." Tony made a half-hearted gesture toward his head.

"Why is he calling you in the middle of the night?" Steve sounded offended on his behalf.

"Because he's a vindictive asshole." Tony explained.

When Steve remained silent, Tony prompted. "What? Not going to get on me for my language?"

"Nope. What you said is true." Steve said.

Tony snorted a laugh and then gasped. "Ow don't make me laugh."

"Sorry." Steve apologized but Tony could tell he was holding back his own laughter. "So what did Ross want?"

"He threatened me."

" _What?_ " Steve was obviously furious.

"Or I guess you could say he threatened us, the Avengers, but with a specific focus on me." Tony added.

"Threatened us with what?"

"You know he wasn't really clear on that part. Just that whatever he has on us will make us sorry if we don't cooperate."

"He wants us to sign the new proposal." Steve guessed.

"Yeah if we don't agree to his amendments and reinstate him we'll regret it blah blah blah. Fire and brimstone. World ending regret, etc. etc. We have until next week to decide our fate." Tony tried to remain glib.

"Do you think he's bluffing?" Steve asked seriously.

What was it with the poker references tonight? Tony considered the question for a few long seconds, but he already knew the answer in his gut.

"No." He muttered into the pillow.

Steve sighed heavily.

"What he has over us must be fairly substantial for him to be this bold." Steve said, thinking out loud.

"Yeah." Tony whispered.

They both thought in silence for the next couple minutes.

"So what do we do?" Tony finally asked.

"We take it to the team and decide what to do together." Steve answered.

"What do you want to do?" Tony asked.

"I…don't want to agree. I don't want Ross anywhere near us again." Steve replied and Tony could tell he was expecting an argument. As if history was about to repeat itself.

"Yeah me neither." Tony muttered and finally turned his face to look at Steve. He didn't miss the surprise that flashed across it.

"You don't?" Steve asked.

"No of course not, but I'd like to know what he's planning. I'll see what I can dig up tomorrow when I hack into his private servers." Tony gave Steve a self satisfied grin.

Steve snorted. "I didn't hear that."

"Of course not." Tony said with a yawn and then burrowed his face back into his pillow.

"Get some sleep Tony." Steve patted him on the back and stood. "It's nothing that can't wait until morning. We'll figure it out."

Tony hummed in agreement. "Yeah. Night Steve."

"Good night." Steve replied. The door closed softly behind Steve as he left.

It took another twenty minutes for the migraine to abate to a level where he could actually fall asleep. The only blessing was it also hurt too much to think.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this is a little late again. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought!


	10. Chapter 10

"Peter are you sure you want to do this?" Ned asked as he stopped on the sidewalk a block away from Avengers Tower.

"Yeah I'm sure. Come on." Peter grabbed Ned's arm and dragged him forward. "Besides, this is perfect timing. Tony's going to be in DC for the next few days, so if something goes wrong at least he's not anywhere nearby."

"Is that supposed to be reassuring? Because it's not. It's really really not." Ned said nervously.

"Well you were the one worried about him killing you. This way he's too far away." Peter reasoned.

"You were the one that said I could do it without getting caught!"

"And you can! Can't you?" Peter really hoped so. If his friend tried and failed, they'd both be in deep shit. Peter couldn't even imagine what Tony would do to him. He probably wouldn't see the light of day for a year. And Ned…well Tony might actually kill Ned.

"Yeah I think so. Just…stop freaking me out." Ned muttered and glanced around as if someone might hear.

"Sorry." Peter apologized. "Just try to calm down. It's going to be fine. You've got this. We've gone over the plan a million times. Don't be nervous."

"Don't be nervous?" Ned said, sounding semi-hysterical. "I'm going to try to hack Tony Stark's AI and you're telling me not to be nervous?"

Peter sighed. "Look, if it works, it works. If it doesn't…it doesn't."

"Yeah but if it doesn't I'm a dead man. I think I should be allowed my anxiety." Ned raised his voice.

"All right fine but try to hold it together. Don't act suspicious." Peter offered.

Ned glared at him.

"Try to distract yourself. Think of something else. Like…how we won decathlon last weekend so now we get to go to DC in a couple days for nationals."

"Yeah think of DC." Ned said sarcastically. "Where I almost died last year?!"

Peter grimaced.

"You know, you're really bad at this whole reassurance thing." Ned complained. "I seriously hope your alter ego is better at it."

Peter thought so but he didn't say that to Ned since they'd reached the Tower door. He had more important things to worry about.

"Just remember…be cool. And stick to the plan." Peter reminded Ned as he grabbed the door handle.

"Ok." Ned took a deep breath. "Yeah. Be cool. I can-I can do that. Cool as a cucumber."

"Do you need to go over the plan again?" Peter paused. He didn't like how nervous Ned looked.

"No I got it. I'm good. Let's just get this over with." Ned said.

Peter nodded and opened the door with a grin. "After you."

Ned fidgeted all the way up to the penthouse, but he actually kept it together better than Peter thought he would.

"Hey FRIDAY." Peter greeted as they got off the elevator and walked toward his room.

"Good afternoon Peter." The AI said in reply.

"Is Tony home?" He asked even though he already knew the answer.

"No I'm sorry Peter. He is still in DC." FRIDAY replied and Ned and Peter shared a knowing look.

When they got to his room, Peter dumped his backpack on the floor by his desk while Ned fished out two matching computer game disc cases from his backpack.

"Hey FRIDAY would it be ok if Ned uses Tony's office computer? We have a new computer game we want to try out together. I'm going to play on my computer but can Ned play on Tony's?"

There was a slight pause and Peter held his breath. He'd figured it'd be fine. Their entire plan hinged on it. If FRIDAY said no they were toast.

"I can find no reason why that would not be allowed." FRIDAY answered.

"So yes?" Peter confirmed.

"Yes Peter."

"Thanks FRIDAY." Peter grinned and then turned to Ned, ignoring the sheen of sweat on his friend's forehead. "It's the second door on the left."

Ned gave him a terse nod and left. Peter pulled out his own game disc and inserted it into his computer. His disc was the real game. Ned's was a disc he'd placed a pre-made hack on so it'd be automatically uploaded and inserted into FRIDAY's programming when he put the disc in. There were a few manual commands that needed to be entered in as well, but the way Ned had written the hack on the disc was supposed to keep FRIDAY from noticing. These next few minutes would be the moment of truth. They'd either get away with it or he'd be getting a very angry phone call very soon.

Peter watched the clock on his computer, trying to portray an air of nonchalance. One minute passed. Two. At three Peter felt himself start to break out in a sweat. Shit. It shouldn't be taking this long. Four minutes.

"Hey Peter." Ned said as came back in and Peter jumped nearly a foot in the air in surprise.

"Sorry." Ned apologized when he noticed he'd scared him. "Um the game isn't working. I tried a few different things, but I think I brought the wrong disc. I must have accidentally switched it out with one of my blank CD's."

"Oh that's ok." Peter answered and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling as he watched Ned scratch his nose. That was the signal they'd decided on to indicate success. Yes! It had worked. "I guess we can try it another time."

Ned put the disc back in his backpack and did the same with the other one once Peter took it out of the computer and handed it to him.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Peter asked. It's what they'd planned on originally if the whole thing worked and they didn't have to flee to avoid Tony murdering them.

Ned frowned. "Um…"

"What?" Peter prodded.

"There are some uh…things? In there. That maybe you should look at?" Ned stumbled nervously over the words.

Peter frowned. "Things?"

"Um…books."

"Books?" He echoed skeptically.

"Yeah like…" Ned trailed off.

"Like what?"

"Just go look. I'll be in the living room." Ned said and Peter watched him leave.

Weird.

Peter did as Ned suggested and went to Tony's office. He didn't notice anything that seemed off but there were a couple books stacked on the desk. Peter walked over and as he read the titles he felt a sensation like cold water being poured over him. _Helping your Teenager Deal with Loss_ and _Adolescent Adoption_ burned into his retinas. Fuck. Seriously? And Ned had seen these? Peter's cheeks burned. No way was Tony actually reading this shit. Peter's mind instantly denied the possibility, but when he looked closer he noticed there were a few places in each book that had been earmarked.

He picked one up and opened it to the first marked page. He skimmed over the paragraphs quickly and immediately felt sick. He wasn't sure if it was because Tony actually seemed to be reading this stuff to figure out how to deal with him or if it was because the short section he'd read seemed to describe his recent behavior perfectly. Instead of rifling through the rest of the marked pages, Peter shakily set the book down and left.

He strode out into the living room and sat down next to Ned.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said without looking at his friend.

"Ok." Ned said easily. "What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care. Whatever you want."

Ned picked a new comedy movie that had recently come out.

"Hey, can we hang out this weekend?" Ned asked as the opening credits started rolling.

"Um sure. Why not?" Peter frowned. He was barely paying attention to the movie or Ned's question. His mind was still stuck on those stupid books.

"Because Tony grounded you? Which really sucked by the way dude. Do you know how lame it was to have to go to homecoming alone last weekend and Flash's stupid Halloween party last night?"

"Why did you go to that anyway?"

"What? Homecoming or Flash's party?"

"Both. Either. But mainly Flash's party." Even if he hadn't been grounded, he doubt he would've gone to Flash's party. The guy was a dick. And after what happened last year, he honestly hadn't had any desire to go to homecoming either. No reason to dredge up bad memories. He'd actually been relieved to have the legitimate being grounded excuse to get him out of it.

"I don't know. Something to do." Ned shrugged. "So can we hang out or not?"

"We're hanging out right now." Peter pointed out, although he wasn't sure if Ned was technically allowed to be over right now, but Tony wasn't home to notice and FRIDAY didn't seem to have tattled on him. "But yeah I won't be grounded anymore, so we could go out and do something if you want."

"Awesome. I'm going to hold you to that."

Peter nodded and went back to pretending to watch TV. He tried to focus on the screen in front of him but all he kept seeing were those books. When had Tony gotten those books? Recently? Awhile ago? Right after he adopted him? Why did he even get them in the first place? Had there been some inciting factor? Was Peter really so messed up that Tony thought he needed them to figure out how to deal with him? And if that was the case, why in the world would Tony want to keep him? Oh god. Maybe he was regretting it. Another few minutes passed and Peter's insecurities and anxieties continued to plague him. He knew the movie wasn't going to cut it as an adequate distraction.

"I'm not really feeling this movie." He said suddenly. "Do you want to play the new Call of Duty instead?"

Ned studied him for a few long seconds with a frown but didn't question the change of heart. "Um sure."

Peter fidgeted and tried to come up with a reasonable excuse anyway. "I haven't been able to go out as Spiderman lately so I just have too much pent up energy to sit still and watch something right now. I need to do something."

"Got it." Ned smiled. His friend knew he sometimes had a hard time dealing with the excess energy he'd gained after the spider bite, especially when he couldn't use Spiderman as an outlet to burn it off.

The game served as a good distraction for the rest of the afternoon until Steve interrupted when he came up to check on him.

"Hey Peter. Ned." Steve smiled as he walked over to join them by the couch. "Do you want to come join us for dinner? I made spaghetti."

"And garlic bread?" Ned asked.

"Ned." Peter chastised his friend's rude behavior.

"Of course there's garlic bread. How can you have spaghetti without garlic bread?" Steve joked.

"I'm in!" Ned said eagerly, standing to follow Steve downstairs.

"Peter?" Steve asked when he didn't get up right away.

"Um yeah sounds great Steve. Thanks." Peter got up to follow them, already dreading how embarrassing Ned was probably going to be.

Actually, dinner went surprisingly well. Ned kept it together better than usual. He acted like an actual human instead of a crazy fanboy. Maybe the novelty of the Avengers was finally wearing off for him.

Peter enjoyed himself too. He realized he'd kind of missed the team. He hadn't spent much time with them recently. When he'd been avoiding Tony, he'd been inadvertently avoiding everyone else as well. Ned had to leave right after dinner but instead of going back upstairs to his room, Peter hung back.

"Hey pipsqueak you want to join in our Mario Kart tournament?" Clint asked when he noticed Peter lingering at the table after all the dishes had been cleared off.

"Yeah." Peter smiled.

"But I thought we were going to do the drinking game version." Sam complained.

"We are." Clint answered.

"No one underage is drinking." Steve said sternly.

"We'll give him juice or something." Clint said.

"You don't think maybe we should be modeling good behavior for the impressionable minor?" Rhodey asked.

"No man." Sam disagreed before turning to him. "Peter, drinking is bad. No drinking until you're twenty-one. Got it?"

"This is a do as I say not as I do kind of thing huh?" Peter joked.

"Exactly." Clint said. "I'm sure you're very familiar with the concept, having Tony as your dad and all."

Peter laughed.

"Well I'm not taking the heat for it if Tony finds out." Rhodey said.

"He's not going to find out." Scott argued. "Right kid?"

"My lips are sealed." He mimed a zipping motion across his mouth.

"See? We're all good." Sam shrugged as he settled on the couch. "Now, we're doing teams right?"

"I call dibs on the kid." Clint said quickly as he clasped a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the couch so he was sandwiched between him and Steve.

"I'm with Cap." Sam called next.

"So I'm stuck with tic tac?" Rhodey fake complained.

Scott flipped him off in response.

"Nat! Bruce! You guys in or not?" Clint called across the room where the two of them were finishing up with the dishes.

They glanced at each other and shrugged.

"Sure why not." Natasha answered for them.

While they waited for the two of them to finish cleaning up, Sam distributed bottles of beer.

Peter turned to Clint. "So do you know the reason Tony had to go to DC again? Is it because of that Ross guy?"

Clint raised his eyebrows in surprise before asking, "What did Tony tell you?"

"A whole lot of nothing." Peter complained. "But you can tell me, can't you?"

"Sorry kid. That's up to your dad." Clint didn't look all that sorry.

"Oh come on. Please." Peter pleaded. "I won't tell him you told me."

"Nope. I'm not going to crack kid. Practice your interrogation skills on someone else." Clint smirked and took a sip of his beer.

Peter turned his most pitiful puppy eyes on Steve. He knew the other man had overheard their conversation. "Steve. Cap. My favorite Avenger. Will you tell me? Please?"

"I'm telling Tony you called Cap your favorite Avenger." Clint groused.

"He already knows. It drives him nuts." Peter shrugged and tried not to laugh as Steve's cheeks pinked slightly.

Clint cackled.

"So what do you say Steve? Can you tell me? Please please _please_?" Peter leaned into Steve's shoulder and clasped his hands together as he begged. "I won't tell Tony. I promise. I just want to know what's going on. Don't I deserve to know? Come on. I worry about you guys."

"Wow he's really laying it on thick." Sam commented from Steve's other side.

"Don't worry about it son." Steve ruffled his hair. "We have it handled."

Peter scrunched up his face in displeasure. "I take it back. You're not my favorite Avenger anymore."

Steve snorted.

"Oh yeah? Who is?" Clint prodded jokingly.

"Hmm." Peter pretended to be deep in thought.

"What are we talking about?" Bruce asked as he and Natasha walked over and sat down on the opposite couch

"Who Peter's favorite Avenger is." Clint answered.

"Isn't it Ironman?" Bruce asked.

"Apparently it was Cap but now he's out." Sam laughed.

"Seriously?" Bruce asked and Nat raised an eyebrow.

"If anyone wants to tell me what's going on and why Tony's in DC, you'll be my favorite Avenger." Peter tried bribery.

"Nope."

"Sorry kid."

"Ask your dad."

"Oh come on!" Peter whined.

"No one's telling kid. Now, who's your favorite Avenger? Is it me? It's me, isn't it?" Clint jested.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Let's just play the game."

"No no no. Not until you pick." Sam said.

"Argh. Fine." Peter glanced around the room, considering each of them for several long seconds.

"I pick…" He smiled widely. "Thor."

"Oh man."

"You would."

"He's not even here!"

"I'm telling Tony."

Peter laughed.

"That's crap. You haven't even met Thor." Clint complained. "He can't be your favorite."

Peter just shrugged.

"I have a feeling this favorite thing is going to be a very fluid distinction." Nat remarked dryly.

Peter beamed at her. "You know me so well."

"Ooo should we make a chart? Peter's Avenger flavor of the week." Scott suggested then paused and frowned. "I heard that as it was coming out and it sounded wrong."

Clint chucked a throw pillow at Scott.

"We're not making a chart tic tac." Sam rebuked.

"I was kidding. It was a joke." Scott rolled his eyes. "Can we get on with the game now?"

"Yeah I'm ready to kick spider boy's ass." Sam joked as Rhodey got up to turn on the game console.

"Hey it's Spider _man_." Clint defended him. "And our team's going to wipe the floor with you."

"I changed my mind. Clint's my favorite now." Peter smirked as Rhodey handed him a controller.

"Yes! I knew it!" Clint cheered, raising his fist in the air in a mock victory pose.

This time Natasha threw a pillow and it nailed Clint right in the face.

Peter laughed at the shenanigans. He'd really missed this. He was glad he'd decided to stay and hang out with the Avengers tonight. He knew he'd still have time later to try to sneak out as Spiderman and test Ned's new hack. For now, it could wait. He had his priorities straight. First, he had to help Clint school the rest of the Avengers at Mario Kart.

* * *

Peter struggled to bottle up his excitement as he bounded from the elevator into the penthouse. He and Clint had won the Mario Kart tournament, and now he was going to find out if Ned's hack would finally give him the freedom he craved.

He stepped into his room, beaming, before he spoke the code words he and Ned had come up with. "FRIDAY, initiate arachnid dark protocol."

There was a slight anxiety inducing pause before FRIDAY replied, "Protocol engaged."

"Yes!" Peter celebrated. Awesome. Perfect. It had worked! He almost couldn't believe it had actually worked. Ha! So much for being grounded from Spiderman for another week and a half. He rushed to get his suit on and stepped out onto his balcony. He'd planned ahead for this. Ned could only set up the hack for his room, so Peter couldn't so much as step out into the hallway or he'd be busted, which was why he'd spent the last few days in the lab with Bruce and Tony working on new web combinations. One was set up to act almost like a grappling line and the other had bungee capabilities. He hadn't had a chance to test either yet, but everything in the lab had looked promising, and there was no time like the present to find out. Tony would probably kill him if he knew what he was doing.

"Karen, engage bungee web."

"Peter, may I remind you that this web combination has not yet been tested?" Karen chastised.

"That's what we're doing right now." Peter said.

"It would be prudent to have back up safety precautions in place in case the test fails." Karen recommended.

"That's what the parachute's for."

"You would not be able to successfully engage the parachute at such a close proximity to the ground."

"Ok fine. For the first trial set up a short enough drop so if the web snaps the parachute can safely engage." Peter sighed.

"That is a very good idea Peter. The requested bungee webshooter parameters are now set."

"Ok. Here goes nothing." Peter webbed the balcony railing and jumped.

The feeling of free fall always exhilarated him but this time with the added element of uncertainty and danger, fear tinged excitement thrummed through him. It seemed like only seconds had passed before the web caught him abruptly. The web held without snapping but it still jerked his wristed uncomfortably, just short of painful. The web bounced him up slightly before setting back down at the end. Good. He'd been worried he'd given the chemical composition too much give and he'd end up bouncing up and down like an actual bungee jumper. This one had just enough give and stretch to slow him down without sending him flying back up in the air. Test success.

"Congratulations on a successful test of your bungee web Peter."

"Thanks Karen. What do you say we try the next one?"

"That would be advisable."

"Karen engage grappling web."

"Grappling web engaged."

Peter craned his head back and aimed at the railing of his balcony several hundred feet above him. He extended his wrist back and watched as the web shot off with a characteristic _fwip_ before sticking to the exact spot he'd intended. As soon as it was anchored, Peter disengaged the other web and used that hand to tap the spot on the back of his wrist that would start reeling him in.

It worked just like he'd planned. When he arrived back on his balcony, he disengaged the web, stood on the railing and cheered. "Woohoo!"

He'd done it. Sure, Bruce had helped and so had Tony a little, but most of the web composition design and necessary alterations to his webshooters had been his idea.

"Congratulations Peter. Both new web combinations have undergone successful trials."

"Thanks Karen. I noticed." Peter grinned. "Now that we know I won't be plummeting to my death, can you re-engage the bungee web for the correct distance to make it to the ground.

"Yes Peter. Web engaged."

Peter webbed the balcony railing again and leapt back into the air, enjoying the rapid descent even more the second time around. The web worked perfectly again. Thankfully. Or he would've ended up as a splat on the pavement that not even his healing powers would've had a chance of fixing. Karen had been right to make him test it at a safer distance. Good ole Karen.

He slowed to a complete stop about ten feet above the sidewalk. He disengaged the web and landed lightly on his feet and then took off at a run, webbing a nearby building and starting his building to building journey into Queens. No outraged phone call from Tony interrupted his swinging. Everything had gone off without a hitch, and going out as Spiderman served as an instant reprieve from the constant nagging guilt that had plagued him.

He knew he should probably feel bad about deceiving Tony, but the only emotion he felt right now was unbridled joy. He took a deep breath of the dirty smog laden New York City air. It was the sweetest air he'd ever smelled. He was free.

* * *

A/N: I know there still wasn't any Tony and Peter stuff in this chapter but at least there was Peter and Avengers bonding? Let me know what you think! I appreciate any and all feedback.


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you actually going to show up tomorrow Parker?" Flash scoffed from where he lounged in a chair by the hotel pool. Decathlon national finals were tomorrow and they were staying in the same hotel as last year, but unlike last year Peter had actually snuck out of his room with the others to go to the pool once Mr. Harrington had gone to bed. This year it was too cold to swim, but they all still went down to hang out together.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Peter replied with some sass from his own lounge chair. He was kind of surprised Flash hadn't called him Penis Parker but maybe he shouldn't have been since Flash hadn't used the dreaded nickname ever since Happy had scared him almost a month ago. It'd been surprisingly nice.

"Yeah but you were here last year too until you conveniently disappeared the morning of the meet." Flash put the last part of the accusation in air quotes. "I still can't believe Harrington didn't light your ass up for that. Where were you anyway?"

"I had a family thing." Peter gave a half shrug. The wind picked up and he pulled his hands into his sweatshirt sleeves and crossed his arms.

Flash narrowed his eyes at him for a few seconds. Just when Peter thought he'd let it go, he smirked cruelly. "Family? What family? Don't you live with your aunt?"

Peter gaped. He was honest to god speechless in the face of such a hurtful pronouncement. The worst part was he didn't even have his aunt anymore, not that Flash knew that. The only one at school who knew was Ned.

Before Peter had a chance to gather his wits and say something cutting back, Flash sputtered as a bottle of water was dumped unceremoniously over his head.

"Sorry. I thought you needed to cool off." MJ deadpanned from where she stood with a now empty water bottle poised over Flash's head. She definitely didn't look sorry at all.

"What the fuck?" Flash said in shock as he sat there, now soaking wet, while the rest of the decathlon team laughed.

"Yeah MJ!" Ned cheered and the corner of Peter's lips turned up in a small smile even though his chest still ached. At least the attention was off him now.

"Maybe you should go back to your room to dry off." MJ suggested.

"You know what? You losers deserve each other. I'm out of here." Flash said indignantly as he stood and stomped off, dripping a path of water on the concrete.

As everyone laughed again, Peter caught MJ's eye and gave her a grateful smile. She nodded back at him.

Peter watched as MJ sat back down in her chair and went back to reading on her tablet. The rest of the group picked up their plucky conversation where it'd left off before Flash had been a dick, discussing the finer points in the differences between the new Star Wars and the originals. Peter didn't feel like joining in. After another ten minutes had passed and his mood still hadn't lightened, he decided to give up and go to bed.

"I'm going to call it a night guys. I'll see you in the morning." He said as he stood and stretched.

The rest of the team echoed their good nights.

"You want me to come with you?" Ned asked discreetly from where he sat next to him.

"No you stay. Enjoy yourself." Peter tried to give him a reassuring smile but he knew he didn't quite manage it.

"You sure you're ok?" Ned whispered.

"I'm fine. Just tired." It wasn't entirely a lie. He was tired. It just wasn't all he was feeling.

"Ok." Ned said skeptically. "I'll be up in a few."

Peter gave everyone a wave as he walked away. He made it to the stairs before he realized someone was following him. His spidey sense wasn't tingling, though, so whoever it was, wasn't a threat. Ned had probably decided to come up with him after all. He could be such a mother hen sometimes. He turned around to tell him that, but stopped short when he noticed it was MJ shadowing him, not Ned.

"Um h-hey." Peter said, surprised. "Did you um need something?"

MJ crossed the short distance between them, coming up to his side. "Don't flatter yourself Parker. I'm not following you. I'm going to bed too."

"Oh. Cool." He responded and started up the stairs, shoulder to shoulder with MJ.

"Don't listen to Flash." MJ interjected abruptly when they were halfway up the stairs.

Peter stopped up short in surprise. "What?"

MJ stopped too and stared at him.

"I-I mean…I don't." Peter frowned.

"Good." MJ said and started walking up the stairs again. Peter followed in awkward silence.

When they got to the top, before parting to go their separate directions, MJ hesitated.

Peter watched with a frown as she turned to look him in the eye before saying softly and very un-MJ-like, "I'm sorry about your aunt."

Peter blinked in shock.

"Wh- How- Did Ned tell you?" He struggled to speak.

MJ shook her head.

"H-How did you know?"

"Some of us still read the newspaper." MJ explained like the answer was obvious. But how did that… Oh. She must've read it in the obituaries. Tony must've had something written. Peter wondered what it'd said.

"Oh." Peter whispered.

"You seem like you're doing ok." MJ opined as a half statement, half question.

"Yeah. I-I've been ok. I mean it's been rough, but I think I'm doing ok." He answered honestly. It was true. Mainly because of Tony.

"Good."

Peter waited a couple seconds for the uncomfortable questions to start. What happened? Where have you been staying? Who's taking care of you now?

But instead of questioning him, MJ just gave him a little smirk. "Get some beauty sleep Parker. I need you on your A game tomorrow."

Peter smiled and gave her a mock salute. "Aye aye Captain."

MJ snorted. "Dork."

As she started to walk away, Peter called after her. "Hey MJ."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

She must've seen the obvious gratitude on his face. She gave him another nod before turning back and walking the rest of the way to her room. Peter watched her go for another couple seconds before turning around to make his way to his own room. That entire conversation, if it could even be called a conversation, had thrown him for a loop. MJ knew his aunt was dead. What else did she know?

He was surprised to discover that he wasn't all that worried. Even though he didn't know her all that well, he trusted her. He knew she'd never say anything to anyone. It almost felt nice to know someone besides Ned knew he was going through something. It couldn't hurt to have more than one friend in his corner. He'd try to show her his appreciation tomorrow by being the best damn decathlon team member he could be.

* * *

"Stark." Ross stood and greeted him coolly as Tony walked into his office. "I hear you've been busy this week."

"I'm busy every week." Tony responded and purposely ignored Ross's gesture to the chair in front of his desk. He preferred to stand for this.

"My sources tell me you've had several meetings with numerous committee members. Not to mention the other dozen or so senators and representatives you've been rubbing elbows with." Ross sat down and leaned back in his chair, completely unperturbed to be looking up at him.

"You've been keeping tabs on me." Tony observed, not at all surprised. "That's a little creepy and stalkerish of you."

"Given what you've been up to, I think I can infer what your answer to my previous question is going to be, but I want to hear it from you all the same." Ross raised his eyebrows and waited.

"I talked it over with the team. We're going to have to say no." Tony sniffed, waiting for Ross's response. He wondered if he'd find out what the man had over them now. He'd hacked his private servers last week, but hadn't found any hint as to what Ross could be planning.

"I had my own meeting this morning." Ross responded calmly. "With the Accords committee."

Tony frowned. He hadn't known about that.

"You weren't invited." Ross smirked as if reading his thoughts. "I brought some things to their attention. And even though they didn't agree to reinstate me yet, not without your backing, they did agree to a few of my suggestions."

"Funny I met with the head of the committee yesterday and he assured me the new amendments you proposed wouldn't be enacted." Tony bit out. The asshole better not have been lying to him.

"They won't be. At least not yet. They agreed to implement a probationary period before coming to their final decision."

Tony's frown deepened. He didn't like the sound of that.

"You see, the Avengers haven't been very good about following the rules in the current charter. I don't know why anyone was surprised given who they picked to be the leader in their enactments." Ross raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think I've done ok." Tony snarked.

"The main one you keep breaking is stepping into situations before committee clearance. Interestingly enough, they didn't seem to realize how often that was happening until I pointed it out to them. And they didn't seem to like it." Ross gave him a razor sharp grin.

Tony remained silent. He knew they sometimes bent the rules a little, but it was the only way to get anything done. If they left things to the government, the baddie of the week would take over the world before they came to any kind of unanimous decision.

"So," Ross continued, "the committee decided to take a hard look at how well the Avengers are adhering to the current Accords over the next month or so. And if you break the rules, like we both know you will, they're going to have to seriously re-evaluate the way things are done."

"So this is your big play?" Tony scoffed. "Threaten us to behave? Doesn't seem quite your style. I thought you said you had something on us."

"Oh I do." Ross shook his head in amusement. "But I'm keeping that ace up my sleeve. Wouldn't want to waste it if I don't have to. Never know when it could come in handy in the future."

"You know what I think? I think you're full of it." Tony accused.

Instead of getting angry or defensive, Ross laughed. "Oh Tony. I'm not that easy to manipulate. You can't goad me into telling you."

"It was worth a try." Tony shrugged.

"God if you only knew how badly I want to tell you." Ross's eyes glinted angrily as he stood and leaned on his desk to get closer. "To lord it over you and wipe that smug ass look off your face. To see you truly afraid."

Tony's eyes narrowed, assessing. Ross wasn't lying.

"I promise you this Stark. You'll beg me for mercy before this is over." Ross straightened.

"Yeah I don't think so." Tony answered flippantly to mask the alarm that statement caused him. "I'm not really the begging type."

"We'll see." Ross smiled eerily. Tony didn't like the confidence in his voice.

"We're done here." Tony declared before turning on his heel and walking briskly out.

"Oh we're just getting started!" Ross called out after him. Tony paused briefly in the hallway but didn't turn around or respond to the statement. He hated not having the last word, but no witty comeback came to mind. As he left, he tried to ignore the sinking feeling that Ross may be right.

* * *

Their team was doing great. They'd kicked ass in the first two rounds and it looked like they were about to do the same in the last to successfully defend their title as reigning national champion.

Peter buzzed in and answered the next question easily, giving Ned a small smile when his friend patted him on the back. The moderator moved on to ask the next question, but halfway through it, Peter lost focus. His spidey sense tingled sharply and it had Peter discreetly snapping his gaze left and right, but he didn't see anything. Instead of spiking, it settled into an annoying buzz in the back of his mind. Something he'd become all too familiar with lately.

It was so distracting he missed it when Ned correctly answered the question, and he didn't even hear the next question. His thoughts whirled as he tried to figure out what could be setting it off. A bomb? They weren't very close to any major landmarks though. Who would bomb a decathlon meet? Plus if it was a bomb, shouldn't his sense of danger be escalating? It wasn't. Maybe someone had a gun? He scanned the crowd briefly but no one seemed overly suspicious. Peter half listened as MJ answered the question, but she got his full attention when she elbowed him. Hard.

"Ow." Peter complained and shot a glare at her.

"Focus." She rebuked and Peter sighed. He couldn't see any imminent threat, so he tried to listen to the next question, tried hard to ignore the anxiety caused by the persistent sense of danger. This was getting ridiculous. Maybe something was wrong with his senses. This was like the fifth time this had happened. It had happened outside school a couple times and then a couple times when he'd been Spidermanning, but it always eventually went away, so he'd been ignoring it. That technique didn't seem to be working, though, now that it was negatively impacting his life. He managed to answer the next question correctly and MJ gave him a satisfied little nod.

His leg jiggled nervously under the table, an outlet for the constant stress he felt at the moment. He struggled to pay attention and complete the final round. He tried to frame it to himself as a superhero exercise. The goal was to remain focused while being constantly distracted. Once he started thinking of it that way, it almost got easier. He managed to contribute and they finished the last round, winning by a landslide. Peter almost felt bad for the competition, but not really.

"Dude, you ok?" Ned muttered from his side as they stood to shake their opponents' hands once it was over.

"Yeah. It's just my spider sense is going kind of crazy right now." Peter whispered back in answer. Ned knew what he meant.

"Really? Why?" Ned asked.

"I don't know."

"Are we like in danger?" Ned glanced around anxiously.

"I don't think so. It's been bothering me for awhile and it's not getting worse. It just won't go away." He complained.

"What can I do?" Ned asked as they stepped down off the podium.

"I think I need to get out of here. Get some air." Peter admitted. He felt ready to jump out of his skin.

"Ok I can cover for you. I'll say you had to go to the bathroom if anyone asks."

"Thanks Ned." Peter headed quickly for the exit. He'd almost made it to the door when a hand clasped on his shoulder. He spun quickly around, expecting his spidey sense to flare, figuring that this was the threat he'd been sensing, but nothing happened. Peter followed the hand up to the face of its owner, which was occluded by a Yankees hat and dark sunglasses. The man tipped the brim of his hat up and Peter instantly recognized him.

"Hey kid. Where are you going?" Tony grinned down at him.

"Tony." Peter's own face broke out in a relieved smile. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"My meeting finished early. Thought I'd come surprise you. You were great up there. Very impressive." Tony complimented with a squeeze to his shoulder.

"R-really?" Peter gave him a hesitant smile.

"Yeah kid." Tony asserted.

Peter didn't quite know what to do with the honest pride in Tony's eyes. He ducked his head timidly and Tony released the grip on his shoulder to ruffle his hair.

His spidey sense tingled again and Peter took a second to glance around briefly. He caught a blonde man in a suit looking their way but he turned away as soon as Peter met his gaze. Peter didn't see anyone else paying attention to them. Ned and the rest of the decathlon team were in the corner of the room celebrating, oblivious to Peter.

Peter stepped closer to Tony, instinctively seeking out the inherent safety his presence provided. Without thinking about it, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the man. His dad reciprocated instantly.

"Hey you ok?"

"I'm just glad you're here." Peter pressed his cheek against Tony's chest, inhaling the scent he'd come to recognize as a refuge. Tony reflexively held him tighter and one of his hands came up to clasp the back of his head, pulling him in closer and inadvertently sheltering him from his surroundings. Peter felt the tight coil of tension finally begin to unwind. The annoying buzzing at the back of his head didn't abate but he knew Tony would keep him safe. He recognized it was kind of a ridiculous notion since he was Spiderman and Tony didn't even have his Ironman suit on, but some subconscious part of him had begun to associate Tony with safety in past few months.

When Peter made no move to release him, the man leaned down and asked quietly against the top of his head, "You sure you're ok?"

"Not that I'm complaining. I missed you too kid." Tony added as Peter forced himself to let go and step away.

"I'm—" Before he could say he was fine, another hand brushed his arm. Peter unconsciously leaned a little closer to Tony.

"You came back fast." Ned observed and then when he noticed who Peter was with he exclaimed excitedly, "Oh hey Mr. Stark! I didn't know you'd be here."

"It was a surprise. I was in the area." Tony answered.

"Dude that's so cool!" Ned said to him. "Mr. Stark watched our competition."

Tony snorted and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Are you feeling better?" Ned asked quietly as he glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Did you tell Mr. Stark your spider sense was going off?"

" _Ned_." Peter admonished. He didn't want to worry Tony.

"No he didn't." Tony sent an accusing gaze at him.

"It's fine. I think it's malfunctioning or something." He rubbed a hand over his eyes. It'd never gone off for this long before and it was starting to build into a bad headache.

"Is it still bothering you?" Ned asked, surprised.

Peter nodded.

"I don't know. Maybe we should listen to it and get out of here." Ned suggested. "I mean it's never been wrong before has it?"

Peter chewed at his lip but didn't answer.

"Has it?" Ned asked in surprise. Peter hadn't told his friend about how annoying it'd been lately.

"Peter." Tony prompted more sternly.

"A few times. I don't know. It's been a little… _off_ lately…" Peter admitted. He glanced up at Tony and noticed the man looked a little surprised but mainly worried.

"Since when?" Tony asked.

"Umm." Peter frowned and considered the question. How long had it been doing this? "The past week or so."

"That's it. You're coming home with me." Tony said decisively. "And we're going to talk about this."

"It's not that big of deal." Peter defended weakly.

"Something you rely on to keep you safe. Something related to your…unique situation…is acting up. It's a very big deal."

Ned seemed to agree with Tony. He nodded vigorously. "I'll go tell Mr. Harrington you're going home with…um…"

"A family friend." Tony supplied.

"Got it." Ned gave them another nod and took off.

"It's really fine Tony. You don't have to take me back with you." Although it would be nice to not have to stay another night in a hotel and ride the stuffy bus all the way back to New York.

"You wouldn't rather come back with me?" Tony frowned.

"No I would but—"

"Then what's the problem?" His dad just seemed confused now.

"I…don't know." Peter admitted. It'd just been reflex to argue against any kind of special treatment, but he really did want to go back with Tony.

Tony raised an eyebrow at him but didn't have a chance to comment before Ned returned. He seemed nervous.

"Got it all squared away with Mr. Henderson?" Tony asked.

"Mr. Harrington." Ned corrected. "And um…he said that…um…"

"Spit it out kid." Tony twirled his finger in a keep going gesture.

Ned glanced over at him and looked apologetic before continuing, "He uh knows who your um emergency contact is and said they have to call him to give permission before he can let you go."

Peter paled.

Tony sighed. "Well I'm not going to call him when I'm right here. Ned just go get Mr. Harrison and bring him over here so I can talk to him."

Neither of them corrected the name. Ned seemed lost as he looked nervously to Peter for permission. No doubt Mr. Harrington had told Ned who his emergency contact actually was, and they both knew it wasn't Tony.

"Um…ok." Ned agreed hesitantly when Peter remained silent.

"Wait. You can't." Peter grabbed Ned's arm before he could walk away.

"Why not?" Tony asked then frowned when he noticed Ned and Peter staring knowingly at each other. "What's going on?"

"You're um…not my emergency contact." Peter divulged with a wince.

"What?" Tony bit out. "Who is?"

"Um…May." Peter bit his lip.

Tony blinked blankly for a few long seconds before he took a deep calming breath. Instead of addressing Peter, he turned to Ned. "What's your teacher's phone number?"

Ned rattled it off.

Tony typed something into his phone. Peter figured it was Mr. Harrington's number so he was slightly confused when Tony started talking to FRIDAY.

"FRIDAY look alive my favorite girl."

Tony paused as FRIDAY likely responded to the characteristic flattery.

"I need you to call this number." Tony recited the number perfectly from memory. "And pretend to be May Parker."

Tony glanced over at him then and no doubt noticed the pained expression on his face.

"It's Peter's teacher chaperone's number. His name is Mr. Harrington. Call and tell him you're giving your permission for a family friend to pick him up. If he asks who just give my first name. Got it? Good." Tony said succinctly and hung up.

"Ned go make sure there's no problem." Tony ordered and Ned eagerly hurried to obey.

A few seconds later, they watched from across the room as Mr. Harrington answered his phone and held a brief conversation before hanging up. Ned chatted with him for another minute before rushing back over.

"You're good to go." Ned smiled at them. "That was a really cool trick Mr. Stark."

Tony gave him a curt nod.

"Thanks Ned." Peter said. "I guess I'll see you back in New York."

"Yeah I'll see you." Ned smiled. "Good job today!"

"You too." Peter smiled back and then let Tony lead him away with a hand on his back.

When they got outside, Peter wasn't surprised to see a fancy rental car parked in one of the spots right in front of the building.

"Um I have to grab my stuff from the bus." Peter pointed to the school bus parked at the far back of the parking lot.

"Climb in. I'll drive you over there." Tony said.

Peter got in without discussion. Tony stopped by the bus and Peter hurried to grab his bag, glad the waiting bus driver didn't give him any trouble. As he hopped off the bus and made his way back over to the passenger side door, his spidey sense flared again. He dropped his bag and spun around. What the hell? People were exiting the building he'd just left, but he didn't see anything suspicious.

"Peter? Everything ok?" Tony asked sharply. Peter looked over to him and noticed Tony had gotten out of the car and was walking to his side, staring intently in the same direction as Peter.

"I-I think so."

"You sensing something again?" Tony asked as he stood in front of him, shielding him from whatever invisible danger existed.

"Yeah but there's nothing there." Peter complained and rubbed at his aching head again. "It feels worse than inside though."

"Get in the car." Tony ordered, pulling the door open and practically shoving him in.

"But—" Tony shut the door before he could protest further.

Peter expected him to get in as well but instead, the man leaned back against the door and tapped the side of his sunglasses as he continued to scan the crowd across the parking lot. Peter could hear him talking in low tones to FRIDAY.

After a minute, Peter watched as Tony walked back to the driver's side and got in.

"Did you find anything?" Peter asked curiously as they drove away.

"No." Tony sighed. "But that doesn't mean there wasn't something there."

Peter figured he was just saying that to save him from embarrassment.

After they'd put some distance between themselves and the parking lot, Tony asked, "Is it still bothering you?"

Peter frowned and considered it. His head ached but that was a remnant from the constant alarm he'd felt. The buzz of anxiety at the back of his head was gone.

"No it stopped."

Tony looked over at him sharply. "When?"

"What?" Peter frowned.

"When did it stop?"

"I'm not sure." He hadn't been paying attention.

"When we left?" Tony asked somewhat intensely.

"Maybe. I guess." Peter admitted.

"You said this has happened before." Tony stated.

Peter nodded.

"When?"

"A couple times at school." He answered. He didn't want to admit it had happened as Spiderman too.

"It happened when you were in school? Inside the school?" Tony asked quickly.

"Actually no." Peter frowned. "I was outside both times."

"Has it ever happened at the Tower?"

"No."

Tony pursed his lips in displeasure.

"What?" He couldn't tell why the man seemed upset.

"I don't think it's malfunctioning."

"No?" Peter shook his head in disagreement. "But nothing ever happens. I feel it and then eventually it goes away."

"Has it ever been wrong before?"

"No." Peter admitted. "But there's always a first time for everything."

"I don't think it's wrong." Tony reiterated.

"Then what's making it go off?"

Tony frowned and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Tony?" Peter prompted.

"I'm worried someone might be watching you." Tony confessed with a sigh.

"Me? Why?" Peter hadn't considered that.

"Maybe they've somehow traced you back to me."

"But how? Aren't the adoption records sealed?" Peter's brow furrowed.

"They should be, but nothing's perfect. If you grease the right hand…" Tony muttered. "But it might not be that. It could be that someone's watching you because they think you're my intern."

But if it really was going off because someone was watching him, then they were watching him as Peter Parker and as Spiderman. His heart pounded.

"Tony." Peter could barely make his voice go above a whisper.

"What? What's wrong?" Tony seemed to sense his fear.

"It's happened to me a couple times as Spiderman too." He admitted.

Tony didn't do a good job of hiding his reaction. His eyes widened and Peter saw unadulterated fear cross his face for the very first time. After a couple seconds, he seemed to catch himself and his features slackened back into careful neutrality.

"Who knows you're Spiderman?" Tony asked suddenly.

"Just you, the Avengers, Ned, and um…Toomes." Peter frowned. Tony already knew that.

"No one else?" Tony asked intensely. "You're absolutely sure no one else knows."

Peter's thoughts flashed briefly to MJ, but even if she suspected it, there was no way she'd use it to hurt him.

"I'm sure." Peter nodded.

Tony sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Ok. We'll…we'll figure this out ok?"

Peter wished Tony sounded more confident about that.

"Why didn't you tell me this was going on?" Tony asked more seriously a second later.

"I thought it was a temporary glitch or something. I was hoping it'd go away. If it didn't, I was going to tell you." Peter fidgeted.

Tony side eyed him skeptically.

"I was! I promise." Peter said earnestly. He would have…probably.

Tony sighed again.

"What about the emergency contact thing? When were you going to tell me about that huh?"

Peter almost got whiplash from the abrupt change of topic.

"I-I thought you wanted to keep the adoption thing a secret." He defended weakly.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Tony rebuked.

"I'm sorry." Peter mumbled.

"God Peter, what if something had happened? What if there'd been an actual emergency? The school would've had no idea who to contact." Peter saw Tony's knuckles whiten as he gripped the steering wheel tighter at that thought.

"Ned would know." Peter offered.

"That's not good enough. What if Ned wasn't there, huh? Then what?" Tony turned a challenging look on him.

Peter shrugged and looked away. To be honest, he hadn't considered that possibility.

"What if there was a different kind of emergency and I needed to pull you out of school? In their eyes I have no claim over you right now. Did you think of that?"

"No." Peter hung his head.

"We're fixing this on Monday." Tony declared. "I'll set up a meeting with your principal and explain the situation. Then at least someone at your school will know the truth. It was irresponsible of me not to do it sooner."

"But-but- You can't. What if he tells?" Peter sputtered in shock. Tony had been the one that'd been adamant about keeping the adoption a secret for Peter's own safety, and Peter hadn't really argued because of how much he valued his privacy.

"I'll have him sign a nondisclosure agreement. The way Pepper writes them, they're ironclad."

"Oh."

"Ok?" Tony asked and glanced over at him. He seemed a little calmer now that he had a plan.

"Ok." Peter agreed.

They passed the rest of the short drive to the airport in companionable silence. This time Peter wasn't surprised to see Tony's private plane waiting on the tarmac. They got out of the rental car and Tony tossed the keys to a nondescript man waiting nearby before gathering up their luggage and ushering him onto the plane. Peter picked a seat in the back corner of the plane. He wasn't surprised when Tony sat down right next to him after he'd prepped everything for take off.

Peter leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes as the plane taxied to the runway and took off. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like a puppet that'd had all of its strings cut. His head pounded uncomfortably.

"Tired?" Tony asked quietly once they were in the air.

"Headache." Peter admitted.

Tony brushed his hair back. "You want to lay down?"

"Where?" He frowned without opening his eyes.

"Right here." Tony chuckled softly.

Tony must've taken his silence as acquiescence because the next moment he was adjusting Peter's seat, reclining it back until it lay flat. Peter rolled onto his side so he faced Tony and listened as Tony dug through the overhead compartment for something. He relaxed even further when his dad draped a blanket over him and then gently placed a pillow under his head. He heard Tony finish adjusting his own seat before the lights in the cabin dimmed.

Peter cracked an eye open. Tony sat next to him, reclined but not completely flat in his own seat as he studied something on a Starkpad.

Tony noticed his gaze and gave him a soft half smile and then started to absently play with his hair before turning back to his Starkpad. Peter wondered when he'd figured out that was his kryptonite for falling asleep. The feather light touches in his hair along with the steady hum of the engines and Tony's reassuring presence, sent Peter straight to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Any and all thoughts or feedback are appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

Tony sighed as he sat down in the ergonomic chair in his workshop. Peter was asleep in his room upstairs. Apparently the kid was still worn out even though he'd slept on the flight home. They'd eaten dinner on the couch but when Peter had started nodding off in the middle of the movie an hour later, Tony had sent him to bed.

Now that Peter was taken care of and sleeping upstairs, Tony finally let his worries consume him. Worries about the current state of the Accords. About his encounter with Ross. But most of all, about Peter's spider sense going off for the past week. Something Peter hadn't even told him about.

Could someone be watching his kid? But who? And for what purpose? If it was happening to Peter as himself and as Spiderman, it was someone who knew Peter's vigilante identity. His gut clenched in fear at that thought. Only one person came to mind.

"FRIDAY bring up the Raft prison record for Adrian Toomes." Tony ordered.

"Yes boss." A hologram of Toomes' prison record popped up a second later. "Adrian Toomes. Transferred from New York State penitentiary two months ago. He was killed two weeks ago during an altercation with a guard during an escape attempt. Prior to his death he had no other documented incidents at the Raft or the New York State penitentiary."

Tony blinked, perplexed. What? Why would the man be stupid enough to try to escape an inescapable prison when he was only serving a ten year sentence? When he had a family. It didn't make any sense. There had to be more to it than that. Maybe Toomes and the guard had clashed for other reasons.

"Bring up the incident report." Tony muttered.

A copy of the report materialized in front of his eyes. A paragraph. A man's life had ended and all that had come of it was a short paragraph. Not that Tony felt that sorry about the death of this particular man after what he'd done to his kid. Tony scanned the report in seconds. The additional details didn't help. While transferring Toomes from one cell to another for routine cleaning, the man had attacked his guard and attempted to run. The guard had shot him twice in the back. Toomes had died before the prison medics could get to him.

"Show me the surveillance footage." Tony requested. He wanted to see if it had really gone down the way it was documented.

"No surveillance footage exists boss." FRIDAY answered.

"What? How is that possible?" Tony frowned. He knew the Raft's surveillance system was rock solid.

"It was down for routine maintenance at the time."

"Why would they be moving prisoners while their surveillance system was down?" Tony said to himself. "Seems sloppy."

"I agree boss. It is not standard operating procedure."

"Hmm. Or convenient." Tony ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair. "What about the guard? Anything significant on him?"

Something about this screamed foul play to him. But why? Maybe Toomes had more enemies than Tony knew? He waited a few seconds while FRIDAY scoured through the data.

"The guard's name is Michael Bauer." FRIDAY answered. "Besides the altercation with Adrian Toomes, no other reports exist for him during the entirety of the seven months he was stationed at the Raft."

"He's not still stationed there?"

"No boss. He was transferred last week."

Tony frowned. "Transferred where? To another prison?"

"No, according to records he was transferred to— Incoming call from Pepper Potts." FRIDAY informed him before she could finish her sentence.

"I'll take it." Tony sighed. He knew he'd been neglecting his SI duties recently.

"Hey Pep what's up?" He answered.

"Tony! I've been calling you all week. You couldn't have called me back once?" Pepper scolded.

Tony winced. "Sorry. I was a little busy trying to put out fires in DC."

Pepper sighed. "I know Tony. I know you're busy, but I really need you to finish looking over that paperwork and sign it. It needs to filed by midnight tonight."

Tony glanced at his watch. He still had a few hours.

"What paperwork was that again?" Tony asked hesitantly.

"Oh my god. Tony!" Pepper yelled in frustration. "The paperwork I gave you last week. I literally handed it to you and you said you'd look it over _right away_."

Tony winced again. He could tell Pepper was stressed. "Right. _That_ paperwork."

He had no clue what Pepper was talking about. He stood up and scoured his desk, but he didn't see anything that resembled official SI documents.

"Are you going to actually do it or do I have to come over and supervise?" Pepper asked, sounding more exasperated than angry now.

"No no Pep I'm going to do it." Tony said. As soon as he found it.

"A little help FRI?" Tony whispered.

"I believe the paperwork Ms. Potts is referring to is upstairs on your office desk." FRIDAY replied at a low enough volume so Pepper wouldn't overhear.

"I'm going up to my office to do it right now." Tony tried to reassure Pepper.

"Ok. Thank you Tony." Pepper said. "I'll be there at eleven to pick it up so the lawyers can file it before midnight."

"Ok. Is there anything else I can do for you? Maybe an all expenses paid vacation?" Tony tried, half serious.

"Just the paperwork Tony." Pepper sighed.

"Right. Of course. Consider it done." Tony said.

"It better be." Pepper threatened, but Tony could hear the smile in her tone. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye Pep." Tony said as he walked into the elevator.

"Penthouse FRIDAY." He requested as the doors closed behind him. "Apparently I have some paperwork to finish."

The worries about Peter still remained but with the paperwork distracting him, he completely forgot about his curiosity surrounding the guard.

* * *

 _Peter slowly swung back and forth on the swing set of his childhood playground. The rusty chain squeaked ominously with each back and forth movement. No one else was around. The place was completely abandoned. He was alone._

 _The gravel rustled. Not so alone anymore. The sound drew his attention, and he reluctantly looked in that direction. He already knew who he was going to see. The swing set had always been a thing he did with Ben._

 _Peter's eyes settled on his uncle. The man was dressed in characteristic jeans and a button down shirt rolled up to his elbows. The same outfit he'd been wearing when he died. This time no blood stained it. His hands were buried in his pockets and he looked serene. He walked up to Peter and watched him silently, waiting._

 _Peter watched him back as he continued to swing, up and down. Up and down. Squeak creek. Squeak creek. Still, neither of them spoke._

 _Time passed strangely. Peter closed his eyes. He tried to pretend he was little again and his Uncle Ben was there pushing him on the swing. But when he opened his eyes, his uncle still stood there noiselessly, like an apparition. Waiting. Peter sniffled and stopped pumping his legs to swing. As the swing slowed on its back and forth arc, the world blurred and Peter realized silent tears were pouring from his eyes. Still, he stared at his uncle, not tearing his gaze away as the swing eventually came to a stop. Peter's sneakers settled on the ground and the small stones crunched loudly under his toes._

 _He and Ben stared at each other._

 _"I'm sorry." Peter finally whispered. His voice reverberated loudly through the eerily silent playground._

 _"I know." Ben said back but no emotion formed on his face. "You made your choice."_

 _Peter let out a small sob. He knew Ben meant Tony. That he'd chosen Tony. But he'd had to. He had to. He needed him._

 _"I love you." Peter said. Just because he needed Tony didn't mean he didn't still love his uncle._

 _"I know." Ben said again, but this time he gave Peter a faint upturn of his lip._

 _Ben blurred again through the tears. Peter looked down as he tried to rub them away. When he looked up again, Ben was gone._

 _"Ben?" Peter whispered, whipping his head back and forth but not finding him anywhere._

 _"Ben!" He stood and yelled. His cry echoed in the stifling silence._

 _His uncle didn't return._

 _Peter's legs weakened and he fell to his knees on the smooth playground gravel._

 _"Come back." His voice broke over the plea. "Please. Ben."_

He woke up with a lump in his throat. He gave into it and started crying messily into his pillow.

"F-FRIDAY?" Peter choked out before FRIDAY even had a chance to ask if he was ok. "Can you—"

He broke off because he needed to catch his breath around his sobs.

"T-Tony." Peter cried. "Please. I-I want Tony."

A few long seconds passed with no response, and Peter worried that maybe FRIDAY hadn't heard him or hadn't understood the request.

"He's on his way Peter." FRIDAY finally responded and Peter didn't think he imagined that her voice sounded gentler than usual.

Peter couldn't get his mouth to work around the sobs to thank her. He didn't know why the dream had affected him so badly. It'd been more weird than sad but it'd felt so much like he was losing Ben all over again that his heart was breaking.

The next thing Peter became aware of besides his misery was a warm hand on his back.

"Peter." Tony said his name softly with urgency and concern. Peter felt the bed shift as he sat down. "What's wrong buddy?"

Peter didn't respond.

"Bad dream?" Tony guessed.

"Kiddo?" Tony tried again after a few moments and Peter rolled onto his side so he could at least see him even though he couldn't figure out how to explain what was wrong.

Tony's visage in the darkness blurred just like his Uncle Ben's had in the dream, but Peter could still see he looked worried and tired. He had one of his black AC/DC shirts on with red silk pajama pants and the hair on the left side of his head stuck straight up from where it must've rested on his pillow. He'd obviously been asleep, but he'd clearly come running the second Peter needed him. Tony didn't look the slightest bit mad about being awoken in the middle of the night to deal with his issues.

Peter met warm eyes that held only concern.

In that moment, Peter wanted to tell Tony everything. He wanted to tell him about the dream. That he was sad and reeling. He wanted Tony to help him. To make everything better. To comfort him. To save him from this. But when he opened his mouth to do just that, he didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to ask for what he needed.

"D-dad." Came out instead in an imploring whimper.

Tony's eyes widened at the plea, and the next second the man yanked him almost roughly into his arms. And Peter should've known Tony would just get it. Because this was what exactly what he needed even if he hadn't known it. He clutched Tony's shirt, twisting it roughly in his hands and cried while Tony held him close.

"It's ok kiddo. I'm here. You're safe. You're ok." Tony's voice rumbled soothingly in a constant stream of comfort.

"I-I…I'm not— I can't— I—" Peter tried to speak, to explain he wasn't crying because he was scared, but he couldn't catch his breath around the sputtering sobs.

"Shh it's ok. We don't have to talk yet. Just let it all out kiddo. I'm right here. Everything's going to be ok." Tony reassured as he rubbed his back and kissed his temple almost roughly. It hit him then that Tony was deeply unsettled and trying to hide it but not doing very well.

He wanted nothing more than to be able to calm down, but instead, that realization along with his dad's soothing words, just made him cry even harder. As far as Tony knew, his nightmares had tapered off over the summer. It'd been weeks since he'd last woken him with one. And now here he was after a nightmare in the midst of what must look like a mental breakdown. It was little wonder the man seemed perturbed.

When his cries showed no sign of stopping, Tony seemed to become even more frantic.

"It's ok. You're ok buddy. You're ok. I've got you." Tony continued his litany of assurance.

"I-I'm sorry." He managed to force out.

"Shh no don't apologize." Tony said and kissed his temple again.

Peter tried to pull himself together. It felt like it took forever, but realistically it was probably only a few minutes before his heart wrenching sobs turned into soft hiccupping gasps. Still, he made no effort to pull away.

"Must've been one doozy of a nightmare." Tony finally commented when he'd been quiet for a solid minute.

"I'm ok." Peter mumbled with a sniffle.

"Yeah, no. Try again kiddo." Tony ran a hand through Peter's hair.

"It was bad." He admitted quietly.

"Better." Tony praised.

"I…" He trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"Take your time." Tony bolstered softly as he patiently waiting for Peter to figure out how to explain.

It struck Peter then that for such a notoriously impatient man, he never showed that side to Peter. Not since May had died.

Tony had become almost an expert at handling him. With kid gloves when necessary. Like now. When he had no prior experience to draw upon. Peter wondered if it just came naturally to him or if he'd been reading books like the ones Peter had found in his office the whole time.

"Ben." The name erupted from his lips before he'd even made the conscious decision to talk.

"Hmm?" Tony questioned. Peter could hear the reverberation of the sound from where his ear was pressed against Tony's chest.

Peter couldn't believe he'd just said that. He blinked. Thought about backpedalling. Then figured in for a penny, in for a pound. Maybe talking to Tony about it would help. Not talking sure didn't seem to be working.

"Um Ben. In…in my dreams lately Ben…he um…" Peter trailed off.

"Dreams? Like plural?" Tony sounded surprised.

Shit. He hadn't meant to admit that.

"Yeah I've been uh having bad dreams."

"For how long?"

"A-a couple weeks."

"Why didn't you say anything kid?"

"I-I didn't know how to explain them and then we talked and I-I thought they'd go away."

"But they haven't."

"I guess not."

"You said Ben is in them?" Tony asked carefully. "Your uncle?"

Peter nodded. "May too…sometimes."

"Uh-huh and what exactly happens in these dreams?" Tony asked when Peter didn't elaborate further.

"They tell me things." Peter whispered.

"What kind of things?"

"That-that I'm betraying them." Peter took a deep breath. "That I'm choosing you over them."

Peter felt Tony tense up and he remained silent for so long Peter started to worry he wasn't going to say anything.

"Peter I need you to listen to me." Tony said seriously. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah." Peter rasped.

"In those dreams, that's not really your aunt and uncle. That's not what they'd really think." Tony caressed the back of his head. "It's your own guilt. It's the way your subconscious is trying to deal with it."

"It still hurts." His voice broke. It did. God it did. But what Tony had said made sense. Logically he knew May and Ben loved him and would never actually say those things.

"I know buddy." Tony said sadly.

"I-I miss them. I _do_." He wished he could have a nice dream with them in it.

"I know."

"This has just been so much harder than I thought it'd be." Peter admitted.

Peter could sense Tony's trepidation at that statement.

"I don't mean you. Y-you're great. You've been-been great to me Tony. Really. I don't know what I would've done without you. I don't think I would've made it. It's just…I just thought I was getting better, but now it-it seems like it's so much worse."

"That's how it goes sometimes. Grief." Tony explained sagely. "It's a tricky beast."

Maybe Tony was right.

"And you would've made it just fine without me." Tony added with a little squeeze.

"I really don't think so." Peter insisted.

"You're a tough kid. More than you give yourself credit for. Believe me."

Peter scoffed.

"No. You are. See? You're sitting here talking to me about some hard stuff. That's not easy. Trust me. As someone who never talks much about things. I'm probably not a good role model when it comes to that..." Tony rambled.

"I think you're better than you think." Peter smiled. Tony sure seemed to do a good job when it came to talking about things with him. Maybe he didn't see that.

"Hm." Tony did that thing he did when he didn't agree but didn't want to argue. Peter wondered absently how many people knew that detail about Tony. Or if he was the only one. Or if maybe Tony only did it with him.

"No really. You're…you're a good dad."

"I don't know about that, but thanks kid." Tony sounded a little choked up but he tried to downplay it by ruffling his hair. "But one thing I do know is…I sure do love you."

"I love you too." He echoed quietly with a smile and hugged Tony tight, basking in his dad's comforting presence.

Tony hugged back just as tight. As they stayed that way Peter felt every breath his dad took as it ruffled his hair.

Peter had no clue how much time had passed in companionable silence until he felt ready to let go. As he released Tony and straightened up, the man pressed a quick kiss to the crown of his head.

Peter gave him a wry half smile.

"You good?" Tony asked him, eyes searching.

"Yeah. Thanks." Peter said. "Um sorry I woke you up."

"Nowhere I'd rather be kid." Tony underlined the statement with another ruffle of his hair as he stood. "You think you can get back to sleep?"

The last thing Peter wanted to do right now was sleep and risk torturesome dreams again. The bedside clock read 4:05 AM. Not too early to get up.

"Can we watch a movie?" And he knew he was being selfish asking Tony to stay up with him, but he wasn't ready to let Tony out of his sight yet. He still needed his dad's reassuring company.

"Whatever you want buddy." Tony agreed instantly even though Peter could see the dark circles under his eyes. Peter knew this stuff in DC was wearing Tony out even though no one would tell him what was going on, and now here he was adding to his dad's stress and lack of sleep. He knew he should tell him to go to bed. That he'd be fine on his own and he didn't need him, but his mouth wouldn't form the words as he crawled out of bed.

"Well as long as it's not Harry Potter." Tony joked. "I'm drawing the line there."

Peter snorted out a short laugh.

"Seriously. I hate magic." Tony continued as they walked out to the living room.

"I'm aware." Peter smirked.

Tony huffed as he sat down on the couch. "So what are you going to torture me with this time?"

Peter shrugged as he sat down next to Tony so their shoulders brushed.

"You pick." Peter offered. It was the least he could do since he was making Tony skip out on sleep for him.

"I pick?" Tony asked in mock surprise. "Famous last words kiddo."

"Do your worst." Peter challenged as he grinned.

"Just remember you asked for it." Tony laughed as he draped an arm around him, somehow knowing how much Peter still needed the physical closeness.

Peter didn't even hear what Tony decided to pick as he leaned into him. He was too busy being thankful that fate hadn't yet conspired to take away the man next to him.

* * *

A/N: Leave me your thoughts. They give me life!


	13. Chapter 13

The movie Tony had chosen buzzed in the background, but it barely registered as he watched Peter sleep, head tucked against his chest. When Peter had said he could pick the movie, he'd had FRIDAY put on something slow and boring so the kid would hopefully fall asleep again. It'd worked like a charm. He drank in Peter's face, features peaceful and slackened in sleep. The complete opposite of how he'd looked earlier when Tony had raced into his room.

A thin line of drool ran down the outer edge of his kid's mouth and pooled on his shirt, but he felt fond at the sight instead of grossed out.

"FRIDAY," Tony addressed his AI, voice barely a whisper. Peter didn't stir. "Have you been keeping things from me?"

The AI paused before answering quietly. "What things are you referring to boss?"

"Peter's been having nightmares."

Another pause.

"Yes boss."

"Why wasn't I informed?" After Peter had come to him after a nightmare a couple months ago, he'd figured the kid would continue to do so if he needed him, so he'd gotten rid of the protocol that made FRIDAY inform him if Peter had a nightmare. It seemed like that had been a mistake.

"It was clear Peter did not wish you to know."

"And just when did you decide to start putting what he wants over his best interests?"

"I always have Peter's best interests in mind." FRIDAY sounded almost hurt. "Ensuring his safety and security is my primary objective."

It was. Tony had switched it from himself to Peter a week after the kid had moved in. If it ever came down to choosing between Tony's survival or Peter's, FRIDAY was programmed to ensure Peter's.

"Exactly. And how safe and secure do you think he feels when he's having nightmares every night?"

"They do not occur every night. Excluding tonight, I have only noted three specific instances in the past three weeks."

Well that was good at least. Not great, but better than he'd thought.

FRIDAY continued, "Given that the occurrences have been infrequent, I concluded that Peter's overall sense of privacy was more important in fostering trust and enhancing his sense of safety and security. If I was incorrect in my assessment, I can change my future operating procedure."

Tony blinked as he stared at his kid. He didn't want Peter to feel like he had no secrets and no privacy, but he also didn't want to worry that Peter was hiding important things from him as he seemed apt to do.

"If Peter hadn't asked for me would you have woken me tonight?" Tony asked.

"Yes boss, given Peter's level of emotional distress."

"Ok, then I think I'll continue to leave it up to your discretion."

"Wise decision boss."

"Don't get sassy." Tony chastised only half-heartedly. He didn't have the energy to banter right now. Between the talk he'd had with Peter earlier in the week and the insight he'd gained tonight, he still felt like he'd only started to scratch the surface of his kid's troubles. And he was at a loss for what to do next. None of the books he'd read had touched on this. They'd given insight into adoption and how to help a teenager who'd suffered a major loss, but they hadn't combined the two. Somehow the bookstore had been strangely lacking in books on how to help a kid who'd lost every living blood relative in the span of their young life and was then subsequently adopted by a widely intelligent, rich, and famous superhero.

Peter was obviously carrying around some serious guilt. Survivor's guilt? That was a thing. Maybe he needed to get a book on that? Or maybe he needed more than books. The idea of calling in a professional crossed his mind, not for the first time, and this time he didn't instantly dismiss it. As much as he hated talking about his own feelings and thus avoided head shrinks, maybe a professional could help Peter in a way Tony seemed to be failing. But would Peter even go for it? Tony doubted it. And Tony knew there was no one he would trust with Peter's superhero identity anyway, so how could Peter even have the hope of success if he couldn't be honest? It was a no go.

Tony rested the side of his head on the top of Peter's as he held him a little tighter and took a deep breath. The smell of Peter's shampoo and a hint of some other scents that were indescribable but inherently Peter, instantly calmed him. He wondered if this was what parents meant when they talked about the wonders of baby scent. If your child's scent held some kind of magic you imprinted on. He'd always listened disinterestedly and skeptically when he'd heard anyone talk about it, but now he believed it. He wondered if Peter smelled the same now as he had when he was a baby or if it had changed.

He breathed deeply again and knew that if it was the same, and someone handed Peter to him as a baby, he'd be able to recognize him by smell alone. He wondered if May would agree, if she'd ever had similar thoughts, if she'd known Peter's smell like she knew her own name. Probably. But she was gone, so Tony would never know. And if she were here, well then Tony wouldn't be in the position to wonder.

He wanted to believe that if May hadn't died, he still would've grown closer to Peter, would've eventually gotten to know him better, but he knew he was lying to himself. After Peter had turned him down, he'd left the kid alone out of some sort of self-sacrificing idea that Peter was better off without him. Better off without his influence to mess him up. Maybe if Peter had reached out again he would've made more of an effort, but he doubted it. At most, he would've remained a distant mentor figure. If events hadn't played out the way they had, he wouldn't have Peter now.

He never would've known that Peter's favorite color was blue or that his favorite movie was Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back or that he liked pepperoni and green olives on his pizza or that he had a birthmark on the top of his left foot or that he had faint scar under his chin from where he'd split it on a diving board trying to do a flip off of it as a six year old. He never would've become a father. He never would've known what unconditional love was. As much as he'd loved Pepper, had loved his mother, nothing compared to what he felt for Peter. He would do anything to protect him. If it were between him and Peter, he'd give up his life in an instant. Without hesitation. Peter was his everything and he wouldn't have it any other way. He was so glad that such a smart, funny, kind, and loving kid was his. _His._

He lightly pressed a kiss to Peter's hair. It felt terrible to be so thankful for something he'd only gotten because someone else had died, several someones in fact, but he spent a moment to be thankful anyway. Besides, he knew May wouldn't begrudge him this. As he'd told Peter, she'd be happy he was happy. Happy he was loved. At least she'd had the privilege of knowing him his entire life. She'd had the joy of watching him grow up. She'd gotten to hold him as a baby.

The thought of Peter as a baby, Peter as a toddler, Peter as a wild school age child, made him smile sadly. He'd missed out on that. He'd never get to experience that. And surprisingly, he wished he would've. He would've loved to be there to see his kid take his first steps, say his first word, go to his first day of school. He wondered if there were pictures and videos of Peter as a child. He was sure there had to be at least some. They were probably in the apartment. When Peter had moved in with him, he'd had everything from his bedroom moved, but he'd left the rest of the apartment untouched and he'd been paying rent on it. He was waiting for Peter to be ready, to ask about it. It'd been almost five months and he still hadn't asked.

He tried to remember how long it'd taken him to start to go through his parent's things. He couldn't remember exactly but he knew it'd been years. Years. Tony could wait. He was in no hurry, but he didn't think there'd be any harm in checking in on the apartment and maybe looking through some photo albums while Peter was at school some day. Maybe make some copies so he could have a collection of his own.

He glanced down at his kid. He may have missed the majority of his life so far, but he'd be there for the rest of it. He'd get to experience his own firsts. First girlfriend. First day of college. God he wasn't ready for the kid to leave and go to college yet. He'd get to be there for Peter's wedding day. When he had his own kid and made Tony a grandpa. Hopefully that one was a ways away yet.

Tony sighed and tried to refocus his tangential thoughts. How could he help Peter? If he couldn't send him to a therapist, maybe he should try to push him to talk more. Tony's instinct was always to push things away and bury them deep down, but that clearly wasn't working for Peter. But would it hurt him to talk about his aunt and uncle more? Maybe he just needed to keep being there for him, to continue to remind him that it was ok to be happy and that he didn't need to feel guilty. Simple enough, right?

Tony sighed again. Maybe he needed another book.

He stared down at his kid fast asleep, safe and secure against him. Feelings of protectiveness and love encompassed him. He wished he could keep Peter tucked safely away like this forever, especially with this new possible danger hanging over his head. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Peter much more about his spidey sense before the kid had fallen asleep. After he'd finished the paperwork for Pepper, he'd asked FRIDAY to run through all the suit data from the baby monitor protocol to see if she could identify any suspicious figures. She'd come up empty. The same thing had happened when Tony had hacked the security cameras from outside Peter's school and had FRIDAY run through that video. Nothing. That didn't mean someone wasn't watching Peter. It just meant that if someone was, they obviously knew how to cover their tracks. If anything, it made Tony more worried.

He didn't want Peter going out as Spiderman again until they had a better handle on the situation, but he knew the kid wasn't going to like it. He could already envision the upcoming argument. Peter would get that stubborn set to his jaw and his eyes would glint in challenge as he refused to do what Tony asked.

Or maybe Tony was wrong and his kid would see his point. Maybe Peter would take it well.

* * *

Peter definitely wasn't taking it well.

"You have to be joking. No!" Peter protested vehemently.

"Just hear me out." Tony argued, hands raised in front of him in a placating gesture.

Listening was clearly the last thing Peter wanted to do, but he crossed his arms and waited.

"I think that until we know what's going on you should hold off on the Spidermanning." Tony explained.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Peter went from crossing his arms to waving them agitatedly. "How are we supposed to figure out what's going on if I stop going out?"

"Peter," Tony started with an exasperated sigh. It was hard to believe this was the same kid that only a few hours ago had been curled sweetly against him.

"No." Peter interrupted firmly before he could say anything else. "I'm not giving up Spiderman."

"I'm not asking you to give it up forever." Tony ran a hand down his face. "I'm saying take a break until we figure out what's going on."

"I can't! People are depending on me!"

"Believe me I get that." Tony reasoned. "But someone has to worry about _you_. _Your_ safety."

"I'll be fine." Peter rolled his eyes. "Nothing's happened."

"Yet. Nothing's happened _yet_. That doesn't mean nothing will." Tony disputed Peter's rather childish argument.

"If something does, I can handle it." Peter argued. That was part of the problem. Peter liked to think he could handle more than he actually could, that he was more grown up than he really was.

"I'm sure you probably could, but I'd rather not test that theory." Tony said evenly instead of arguing.

"You don't even know if someone's actually watching me." Peter contended. "What if it's something else?"

"Like what?" Tony had already considered all the other possibilities he could think of, but he hadn't been able to come up with anything more likely.

"I don't know. Maybe it actually is glitching. Maybe it's going off for some other entirely different reason." Peter shrugged.

"Yeah and what if someone's watching you? Biding their time to make their move?" Even saying it made Tony's heart skip a beat in fear.

"Well we'll never know if I just run away." Peter argued.

"It's not running away." God why did his kid have to be so stubborn?

"That's exactly what it is!"

"It's called being smart."

Peter scoffed.

"I just want you to be safe." Tony reasoned.

"Yeah? For how long?" Peter challenged. "A week? A month? A _year_?"

Tony didn't answer and that was answer enough.

"That's what I thought. No thanks."

"You're not listening." Tony sighed.

"No _you're_ not listening." Peter argued back, clearly getting more frustrated.

"I'm trying to protect you." Tony said softly, trying to diffuse Peter's anger and frustration instead of escalating it. He took a step forward to place a calming hand on his kid's shoulder, but Peter shrugged him off and took a step back.

"I don't need you to." Peter said with quiet defiance, arms crossing again.

"Peter." Tony chastised and Peter must've seen the decision in his eyes.

"You promised." Peter said desperately. "You promised you'd never take the suit away again."

"I'm not going to take the suit away." His expression softened.

"You can't make me stop being Spiderman. Please." Peter turned his widest puppy dog eyes on him. "Please dad. I need it."

Tony pressed his lips into a thin line as he considered Peter's argument. He tried to see things from his point of view. He knew how much Peter felt it was his responsibility to help people and his kid was already in a somewhat delicate mental state. Would taking Spiderman away actually make everything worse? He didn't like the idea of exposing his kid to any known danger, but he knew Peter would be furious if he put his foot down like he was itching to do. And when Peter was mad at him he didn't talk, and that was the last thing they needed right now. He didn't want to drive a wedge between them when he needed Peter to keep communicating with him in order to help him.

"And it's not like it's only happening as Spiderman." Peter continued, sensing his resolve weakening. "It's happening at school too. What about that? Are you going to keep me from going to school?"

"Of course not. I was thinking more along the lines of an Avenger escort." Tony admitted offhandedly.

"No." Peter gasped, appalled. Tony had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Most kids would be ecstatic to have the Avengers take them to school, but not Peter.

"We wouldn't walk in with you." Tony clarified. "We'd drive you instead of Happy, and keep an eye on you while you go in and out of school."

"Tony," Peter started.

Tony raised his eyebrows at the change from dad to Tony and his kid corrected himself, "Dad. I get that you want to protect me but you're overreacting. It might be nothing."

"It might be something."

"Ok sure. It might be something, but I'm not a normal sixteen year old. I'm Spiderman. I can take care of myself. And you're the one that's always saying I have to live my life. This wouldn't be living my life."

Tony studied him, deep in thought. Peter had a point. He did want his kid to live his life, but to do that he needed to have a life to live.

"How about this? If it happens again, at school or as Spiderman, I'll call you right away. Fair?" Peter offered. "That way maybe we can actually catch this guy."

Tony scratched his goatee, still reluctant to agree.

"Come on dad, please?" Peter whined.

"I can't say I'm exactly enthused over that idea but I think I can accept it." Tony agreed with a sigh. "But only if you promise to let me know the instant you feel it happening again."

"I promise!" Peter agreed eagerly.

"All right." Tony nodded. Peter beamed before tackling him in a tight hug.

"Thanks dad." Peter said with his face smooshed into Tony's chest.

Tony didn't know if he'd made the right decision, but getting a warm smile and hug instead of angry yelling and the cold shoulder sure made it feel right. He just hoped he didn't regret it.

* * *

"Come on kid we're going to be late!" Peter heard Tony's call through his closed bedroom door. He hurried to finish the last problem of his calculus homework.

"Coming!" He yelled as he shoved all his books in his backpack. Usually he finished all his homework early in the weekend but after his breakdown on Friday night, Tony had cancelled all his previous obligations and spent the entire weekend with him. It'd been great, but he'd ended up putting off all his work until last night. He'd done most of it, but then he'd snuck out to go patrolling and by the time he'd gotten back he'd been too tired to finish the last of his math homework. Luckily, it wasn't anything too complicated and he'd gotten it done within half an hour this morning. And his spider sense had remained quiet last night, so he hadn't had to worry about that. He hadn't quite figured out what he was going to do yet if it went off while he was out as Spiderman when he wasn't supposed to be.

"Peter!" Tony called again. "Let's go!

Peter slung the backpack over his shoulder and hurried to the door where Tony was waiting, attention on his watch.

"I'm ready." Peter said.

"Jeez kid. We're going to be cutting it close." Tony said as they got in the elevator. "Do you want your principal to hate me?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Yep that's exactly it. I wasn't trying to finish my Advanced Calc homework or anything."

"You didn't finish your homework?"

"No I did." Peter was quick to reassure him. The last thing he needed was Tony to get on his case about school stuff.

"Uh huh." Tony eyed him. "This morning. Why didn't you do it last night?"

"I fell asleep." Peter lied. He didn't know what the Avengers were talking about. He could definitely lie. The elevator doors opened and he hurried to the car.

"And what about the rest of the weekend?" Tony asked.

"I was hanging out with you." Peter reminded him.

"All right." Tony's eyes softened. "Just don't make it a habit."

"I won't." Peter agreed readily as he got in the car and buckled up.

"You know have to keep your grades up if you want to get into MIT." Tony said as they peeled out of the garage. As many times as Peter drove in Tony's fancy cars, he never got sick of the smooth roar of the engines and the luxury of the interiors.

"You get good grades right? That's a thing you do? I mean I just assumed because I know how smart you are but I know that doesn't always necessarily equate to good scores in school." Tony rambled.

"I get good grades Tony." Peter said with a laugh. It was always something he'd been independently motived to do. May and Ben had never pressured him. They'd always been happy he did well, but he knew they would've been equally fine with it if he'd only gotten B's or C's.

"Ok. Good. I mean I figured, but it never hurts to check." Tony gave him a smile.

Peter smiled back.

"Aren't I supposed to know what your grades are?" Tony asked with a frown. "Or is this some kind of school that doesn't send information out to parents?"

"Oh. No, you are. Um I think midterm reports go out next week. So once we update my address on file they should uh get sent to you." He didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous at the thought of Tony getting a report of his grades. He knew he had straight A's in every subject.

"You know kiddo, if you ever did get an F or you know screw up on something, I'd be fine with it." Tony said with an air of nonchalance.

"What?"

"I mean don't get me wrong I wouldn't be _happy_ about it and we'd have to talk about it, but it wouldn't be a huge deal. I don't want you to feel like you have to be perfect for me because you don't. Ok?"

Peter blinked. "O-ok."

Tony gave him a nod and then focused his attention back on driving.

"It's just…" Tony started and trailed off with a slight frown. After a long minute, he glanced at Peter again and seemed to come to some sort of decision. "It's just my father always wanted me to be perfect and I never was. No matter what I did it was never good enough. I was a constant disappointment to him. I don't want you to worry about that with me kid. I don't expect you to be perfect. Actually, I'd prefer it if you weren't. And no matter what you do, you'll never be disappointment to me."

Tony had never talked about his father with him before. Peter knew this was a big deal, but he didn't know what to say. A lump formed in his throat at the emotion behind Tony's words.

"Thanks Tony." He said quietly.

Tony flashed him another smile, but Peter could still see the sadness he tried to disguise behind it.

They drove in silence for a few more minutes before Peter thought of the perfect thing to say to lighten the mood.

"Wait, who said I wanted to go to MIT?"

By the time they arrived at school, they were still arguing about colleges. Peter was mainly doing it to mess with Tony and he figured Tony knew it and was just playing along.

"I'm just saying what if I want to go to Cal Tech? Maybe I'm sick of the cold winters here."

"You're going to make your college decision, one of the most important decisions of your life, based on the weather?" Tony sounded a little crazed. Hmm. Maybe he didn't know Peter was joking around.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"God kid." Tony shook his head as they parked. "I can't believe you're going to sell out to California for a little sunshine."

"Hey you used to live in California." Peter laughed.

"Yeah used to. Before I realized the error of my ways." Tony joked as he got out of the car and started walking into school.

"And now you live in the best city in the world." Peter grinned. "Hmm. Maybe I should just stay here. I could go to NYU."

"Oh god please no. You're going to make my ears bleed." Tony said as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Besides the best city in the world isn't New York."

"Oh yeah? What is then?"

"Venice." Peter watched as Tony's eyes glazed over in memory.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll take you there sometime."

"Ok." Peter beamed. He'd only been out of the country once before when he went to Berlin as Spiderman, and he hadn't exactly had a ton of free time to sight see while he was there.

"Now where's your principal's office?" Tony asked as he held the door open for Peter.

"This way." Peter guided Tony in the right direction. Over the weekend Tony had somehow managed to set up a Monday morning meeting with Principal Morita at 7:00AM so there weren't any students around. Peter doubted his principal would have been so accommodating for anyone else. One of the perks of being Tony Stark.

They walked into the school office together. It was so early the secretary wasn't even in yet. When they got to the door marked Principal Morita, Peter hesitated. The last time he'd been in this office was around homecoming last year, almost exactly a year ago, and he'd gotten a stern talking to. Not that he hadn't deserved it.

"You nervous?" Tony asked and even though he smirked at him, the hand he brushed lightly down the back of his head in comfort showed he cared.

"No."

"Don't be. I'll do all the talking."

"I'm not nervous." Peter denied again and to prove it he stepped forward and gave a few quick successive knocks on his principal's office door.

"Come in." Principal Morita's voice traveled through the door.

Tony stepped forward and grabbed the doorknob before Peter could. He flashed him another reassuring smile and opened the door, stepping into the office with all the brazen confidence of Tony Stark. Peter followed closely behind.

Principal Morita stood from his desk and brusquely walked over, offering his hand in greeting. "Mr. Stark. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Peter watched as they respectfully shook hands. "Thanks for agreeing to set this up so last minute."

"Oh it was no trouble." Morita smiled before gesturing to the two open chairs in front of his desk. "Come have a seat."

"I'm assuming this is a matter that has to do with Mr. Parker?" Morita asked as they sat down. "Since he's here. I'm afraid your assistant didn't say what this was regarding when she requested this meeting."

"Yes it has to do with Peter." Tony answered as he pulled an envelope out of his suit's inner breast pocket.

"Ah I see. Something to do with his internship? I have to say all of us here at Midtown are very proud of him. He's an exceptional young man." Morita stated and Peter blushed.

"He is." Tony agreed and shot a proud look at him. "But that's not why I'm here."

"It's not?" Morita seemed thrown for a loop for a moment but he covered it well.

"No." Tony said. "You see, I don't know if you're aware, but Peter's aunt passed away this summer."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Morita said, focusing his attention on him instead of Tony. "No I wasn't aware. She was your…guardian, wasn't she?"

Peter nodded and then looked away, not sure what to say in the face of his principal's sincere sympathy. Honestly, he was kind of surprised Morita knew that about him right off the top of his head.

After a few seconds passed with no further conversation forthcoming, Morita cleared his throat and turned back to Tony. "And I'm sorry, this relates to you in what way?"

"Peter's aunt was his last living relative." Tony explained. Hearing it said out loud still stung. "When she passed, I took custody of Peter."

Morita looked stunned. When he didn't say anything after a few moments, Tony pulled a document out of the envelope in his hands and handed it to Morita. Peter recognized it as his adoption certificate.

"As you can see it's all official." Tony said.

"I-I can see that. You…adopted him." Morita said as he finished looking over the form and handed it back.

"I did." Peter watched as Tony carefully put it back in the envelope and pocketed it before pulling out another envelope with a set of papers obviously filled with legalese.

"And now that you've seen that I'm going to ask you to sign this." Tony said and slid it across the desk to Morita.

"And this is?" Morita asked as he paged through them.

"A nondisclosure agreement. Agreeing not to disclose to anyone that Peter is my son." Tony explained. "Given who I am, we've kept the adoption under wraps. You seem like an intelligent and reasonable man. I'm sure you understand why this is necessary in the interest of Peter's safety."

Morita's brow furrowed slightly probably recognizing that Tony was trying to play on his ego, but he agreed none the less, signing the form. "Of course."

"Thank you." Tony said as he took the form once Morita finished signing. "It came to my attention that Peter's school records still have his aunt and all her information listed in his records. I was hoping there was a way we could rectify that situation without making it public record. The less people that know, the safer it is for Peter, but in case something happens, I want to be the one that gets called. And any official paperwork, permission forms, and things of that nature, I want those sent to me."

"Of course." Morita nodded and pulled out a blank sheet of paper from his desk drawer and gave it to Tony. "If you write your information down on that, I'll hold onto it and handle all of Mr. Parker's correspondence myself. I'll put a note in his file that any permissions and notifications need to be handled personally by me."

"Thank you. Really. I know this is a lot to ask." Tony said as he jotted down all his personal information on the paper.

"It's really not. You'd be surprised the kind of crazy stuff parents ask me to do. This is nothing, and it's very reasonable considering the situation." Morita smiled as he took it and wrote 'Peter Parker contact info' across the top before filing it back into a desk drawer.

"Was there anything else I can do for you Mr. Stark, or was that it?" Morita asked.

"That's it." Tony answered as he stood and the two men shook hands again.

"Thanks Mr. Morita." Peter finally spoke.

"You're welcome." Morita said. "You better keep your nose clean now that you have Ironman to answer to. No more detentions."

"Since when do you get detention?" Tony quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Umm…" Peter couldn't exactly explain his tendency to cut class for Spiderman shenanigans in front of his principal.

"Really kid?" Tony asked when Peter didn't outright deny it. "Never mind. We'll talk about it later."

Morita chuckled. "You've got your hands full with this one."

Tony smiled at the man, an actual smile, not his fake Tony Stark public smile. "Believe me, I know."

"Hey!" Peter protested in mock offense.

"Come on kiddo." Tony wrapped an arm over his shoulders again and started to lead him out. "We both know you're no angel."

" _Tony_." He whined, glancing back at Principal Morita in embarrassment. The man was smiling in amusement. Great.

"I'll see you later Mr. Parker. It was nice to meet you Mr. Stark." Morita said his good-byes as they reached the door.

"You as well." Tony responded.

"Bye Mr. Morita." Peter said.

They walked out of the office and Tony glanced at the clock on the wall. "Let's go grab breakfast quick. We've got some time before school starts."

"Are you sure we have enough time?" He asked. It was 7:15AM and his first morning class started at 8:00AM.

"I'm sure. Besides, if you're late now I can call and excuse you."

Peter snorted. "I don't think you should use your new powers for evil."

"Ha ha. Let's go smartass." Tony ruffled his hair. "I know a great crepe place nearby. You can tell me all about these detentions."

Peter groaned. He'd hoped Tony would forget about that. At least he didn't think he'd punish him for things he'd done last year. Probably.


	14. Chapter 14

"So what are we going to do tonight?" Ned whispered from where he sat next to Peter at a table in the library.

Peter looked up and caught Mrs. Johnson watching them. He ducked his head and pretended to work hard on his math homework for a few seconds before surreptitiously flicking his eyes up to make sure she wasn't watching him anymore. She wasn't.

"Whatever you want." He whispered back, head still down. The last thing he wanted was to get a detention for disrupting study hall. Mrs. Johnson had the reputation as the strictest teacher at Midtown. She'd give out detention for sneezing too loud.

Luckily, she taught junior and senior English, so Peter usually didn't have deal with her, but Mr. Harrington was out sick today and she was covering his study hall. The last thing he needed was to get detention and have to explain it to Tony after all the ribbing he'd had to endure at the beginning of the week after the man had found out about his numerous detentions last year.

"Are you going to go out as Spiderman?" Ned asked with the characteristic excitement he always showed whenever they talked about Peter's vigilante activities.

"Ned shhh." Peter shot him warning look. Ned had been quiet and there wasn't anyone nearby but he didn't like it when his friend talked about his alter ego at school. He worried one of these days Ned would slip up and someone would overhear.

"Right. Sorry." Ned apologized.

They both caught Mrs. Johnson watching them again so they went back to diligently working on their homework until her attention was diverted somewhere else.

"Well are you?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Peter answered. He probably would later, but he wanted to spend time with Ned first. He hadn't hung out with him at all last weekend even after he'd promised he would, so he planned to give Ned his undivided attention tonight, which shouldn't be too hard since he was staying overnight at Ned's house. Tony was in DC. Again. For what, Peter still didn't know. Ever since the first slip up, his dad and the rest of the Avengers had been careful about not bringing it up or discussing it around him. For all he knew they could be planning to flee the country and he wouldn't know until Tony whisked him away last minute on the Quinjet.

"Did you bring the suit?"

"Yeah."

"Dude that's so awesome. Like, it never gets old. Does it ever get old for you?"

"No. It doesn't." It really didn't. He still felt a thrill every time he put on the suit. He wondered if it'd ever fade. Did Tony feel the same way whenever he put on his Ironman suit?

"Spiderman and his guy in the chair get to team up tonight." Ned was practically bubbling with excitement.

" _Ned_." Peter chastised again.

"Sorry." Ned said instantly, but he looked anything but.

"Mr. Leeds. Mr. Parker." Mrs. Johnson's voice rang out across the room.

Shit.

"Do I need to remind the two of you—"

The end of the period bell rang, interrupting before should finish. She huffed angrily but gave no indication she meant to continue her reprimand. She caught Ned and Peter staring nervously at her. "Well? You're dismissed."

"Thank you Mrs. Johnson." Ned said as they both hurried to pack their things away.

"Sorry Mrs. Johnson." Peter added while they practically sprinted out the door.

"Oh man." Ned said in relief once they were out of earshot. "That's the first time I've literally been saved by the bell."

Peter laughed at the comical look on Ned's face.

He spun the combination to his locker and flung it open but he froze when he felt the floor shudder under his feet. Shit. He hadn't meant to use his super strength. Had he ruined the locker? If he had, how was he going to explain it? He carefully grabbed the locker door and moved it back to check it. There wasn't a single dent in it or on the locker next to it. Huh? How could he have caused the floor to shake without making a single mark on the locker?

He stared at the locker, perplexed, when the floor shimmied again and Peter heard a distant rumble. He blinked and turned to look in the direction of the sound. All down the hallway kids were glancing back and forth at each other, confused expressions on their faces. His spider sense started its low level thrumming.

"Dude what was that?" Ned asked from his other side at his own locker.

"I don't know." Peter mumbled. He was just about to take a step toward the school doors to try to find out when the door burst open and his classmates started running in, panic evident.

"Run!" Kelsey screamed as she sprinted down the hallway. "It's coming!"

Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop as she ran by him.

"What's coming?" Peter asked, holding tight as she tried to yank out of his grasp to keep running.

"It's a-it's a giant…a giant robot!" She babbled in fear and Peter released her. She went sprinting back down the hallway where everyone else was now hurrying to run away. Mob mentality and all that.

"A robot?" Peter frowned skeptically at Ned.

The ground shook again, more severely this time. Whatever the robot thing was must be getting closer.

"Good thing you brought your suit to school today huh?" Ned smiled.

"Good thing." Peter grinned back as he grabbed his backpack out of his locker. "Come on."

They ran to the bathroom, which was empty. Big surprise. Ned locked the door and Peter wasted no time running to a stall and changing, bundling his school clothes into his backpack and tossing it to his friend.

"Can you hold onto that for me?" He asked rhetorically as he climbed up the wall and pushed the bathroom window open.

"Sure. What are guys in the chair for?" Ned rolled his eyes.

"And get somewhere safe." He commanded and then jumped.

He hit the ground running. It took him all of two seconds to see the robot Kelsey had been talking about. His eyes widened. The thing wasn't huge per se but it wasn't small. It was about the size of the Hulk, or what he assumed the size of the Hulk was. He hadn't actually ever seen the Hulk in person. To him, he was just Bruce.

"Whoa." He commented as he watched the robot pick up a trunk and throw it into a nearby storefront, demolishing it. People on the streets were screaming and running, doing their best to get out of its way.

"Karen, what is that thing?" He asked and his voice didn't squeak. It absolutely did not.

"It appears to be a large robot Peter." Karen replied. Unhelpfully.

"Yeah obviously." Peter rolled is eyes as he shot a web out to try to get closer. The thing was a few blocks from the school but it seemed to be coming his direction.

"What else can you tell me about it?" Peter asked. The thing grabbed a light post and plucked it from the ground as if it was a blade of grass.

"It appears to have enhanced strength." She answered.

"Thanks Karen." Peter said dryly as he resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Be careful Peter." She warned as he webbed closer.

"I always am." He quipped and landed across the street from the big robot thing before Karen could reply.

"Hey buddy!" He yelled at the robot, garnering its attention. "You lost?"

The robot paused in its destruction to study him for a few seconds before taking a giant step toward him. It moved fluidly, almost like the Ironman armor. Whoever had designed it clearly knew what they were doing. Maybe it was someone's PhD gone wrong.

"Hey Karen, is there someone in that thing?" Peter asked as the robot rapidly closed the distance between.

"I am not detecting any heat sources that would indicate a living entity."

"Cool. Great. Thanks." At least Peter didn't have to worry about holding back. He could trash this thing. Easy peasy.

He slung a web at it, planning to use it to fling it into a building, but the web didn't stick. It grazed right off the metal on the robot's chest. What the hell?

In his shock, he almost missed when the thing's arm turned toward him and shot a fiery energy blast at him. His spider sense screamed and he instinctively threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding getting fried.

"Oh shit! This thing has firepower?" Peter complained as he webbed onto a nearby building to get out of the way as the robot shot another blast at him. He felt the warmth as he escaped. Damn. That was too close.

"It would appear so." Karen responded. "Also its metallic coating prevents your webs from adhering to it."

"Yeah I noticed!" He yelled as he swung to land on a roof. He figured he'd have a few seconds to collect himself, but the thing followed him. It could fly. And it was fast. Fuck.

"Oh this is not good." Peter complained as the robot landed right in front of him and tried to punch him. He ducked just in time but he wasn't fast enough to evade its other arm, which caught him hard on the right shoulder and sent him flying head over heels into the air. He shot a web off and managed to slow his fall so he didn't land quite so hard on the pavement, but it still hurt.

"Ow." He grimaced.

"Multiple contusions detected." Karen supplied.

Yep. He felt that. He pushed off the ground and barely managed to make it back on his feet before the thing was in his face again. Yeah it was really fast, which seemed counterintuitive for how big it was.

The robot kept coming at him. Somehow he managed to evade it, but that was all he could do. He hadn't been able to land a single blow of his own, and he couldn't seem to stop himself from instinctively shooting webs at it even though they wouldn't stick.

When the robot got the upper hand and pointed its gauntlet in his face, Peter's eyes widened. Oh shit. He tried to evade it but it was as if the thing had anticipated his next move. It brought its other fist up in the exact direction he dodged. The metal fist landed a hard blow to his head and sent him flying face first into a brick building across the street.

Peter's eyes shot open and for a long few seconds he couldn't figure out where he was or what was going on. His ears were ringing and fresh dust hung in the air. Had he been in a fight? A sense of urgency tingled in the back of his mind. Was he still in a fight? Where was he? He blinked and coughed as he took in the partially demolished room. As he moved, the bricks covering him shifted and fell to the ground. He rolled onto all fours and brought a hand up to clutch his head when the world spun dizzily around. He groaned. The loud repeated thunk thunk of metal on concrete caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a huge robot sauntering toward him through the new open hole in the wall. Everything came back to him in an instant.

A stab of icy fear shot through him. This thing was really strong. Too strong. He hurried to stand and staggered sideways, almost falling again before he caught a nearby shelf and managed to keep his feet under him. Shit shit shit. He had to get it together. The robot stepped into the trashed room that looked like it used to be a backroom storage area.

Peter pushed away from the shelf and ran in the direction of the open door behind him. He sprinted through the abandoned grocery store and he'd almost made it to the store's front door when he heard the zing of the thing's energy gun. He dove for the door and the blast leveled the ground he'd just been running on and catapulted him through the door in a shatter of glass. He rolled like a ragdoll across the concrete. Ouch.

"Peter, based on my current fight analysis, you appear to be outmatched by this adversary." Karen noted.

Peter agreed. As embarrassing as it was, this robot thing was kicking his ass. He'd barely been holding his own before and now he was hurt. His head spun. He forced his legs to a shaky stand. The evil robot was fast approaching again.

"Would you like me to call for help?" Karen offered.

Help would be great. Yeah he definitely needed help.

"Yeah Karen. Call To—" He abruptly broke off. Tony was in DC. Even if he called him there was no way he'd get here in time. He hated to admit it, but he needed help now.

"Call Steve." He decided as he webbed away, evading another blast from the robot.

"Calling Steve Rogers." Karen complied.

On the fifth ring, when Peter was already thinking about who to try to call next, Steve answered. "Hello?"

"Steve! Help!" He wanted to say more, but the roof he was standing on was suddenly blown out from under him. As it crumbled, he barely managed to web onto the building next to it.

"Peter? What's going on? Where are you?" Steve asked hurriedly. He'd never heard Steve sound scared before.

"I-I need help. Please!" The robot thing was nearly on top of him again. If he weren't so terrified, he'd be embarrassed that he was practically begging Steve for help.

"Where are you?" Steve asked again and then his voice got softer as Peter heard him talking to someone else. "Rhodes suit up. We need to go. We need to go right now."

"I'm-" Peter paused as he leapt out of the way of another robot punch. "I'm by my school. There's this giant robot thing! It's—"

He brought a hand up to try to grab the robot's fist and block the next punch, but instead of stopping the blow it shot a stab of pain through his arm and sent him flying again. This time his web missed and he didn't manage to slow his descent. He landed on top of a parked car. At least the roof had caved in under him and somewhat cushioned his fall. That had really hurt. He just wanted to lie there for awhile.

"Peter? Peter!" Oh right. He was still on the phone with Steve.

"It's too strong." He whimpered. "Please Steve. I need help! I c-can't take this thing by myself."

He could see it coming after him from the roof of the building he'd just been tossed off of. Shit. He needed to move. Like yesterday. He sat up and rolled off the car roof onto his feet. He managed to stagger a few steps back before the car exploded into flames. The blast threw him backwards and he landed hard on his butt.

"I'm coming Peter." Steve's voice finally registered. Peter had no idea if he'd been saying anything else a few seconds ago. He'd been otherwise occupied with trying to stay alive.

"Just hang on buddy. We're on our way. I'm almost there. I'm one minute out. I just need you to hang in there for one minute. Ok? Focus. You can do it. You can. One minute. You've got this." Steve continued.

Peter got up just in time to dive out of the way of another blast. The landing jostled his aching body.

"Come on dude. Can't we come to some sort of truce?" He tried to banter to the robot as he stood again, facing down the robot. In response, it brought an arm down and tried to hit him.

"That's a no huh?" Peter joked shakily as he jumped back, away from the blow.

It leveled its gun at him and Peter swore as he jumped out of the way. Or tried to. Mid-leap he felt the thing grab ahold of his ankle. He had just enough time to register the crushing grip and how screwed he was before the robot flung him mercilessly into a building. This time the wall crumbled but didn't give way. His left side took most of the impact as it slammed into an embedded girder before his body fell to the ground.

Sounds around him buzzed in and out. He lay there limply, eyes open but not really seeing. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. He thought he'd just blinked but he must've faded out for a few seconds because the next time he opened his eyes the robot was standing a mere six feet away from him. Shit. He needed to get up. He needed to move. He managed to push his chest a few inches off the ground before his arms gave way and he collapsed back down, bringing a new jolt of agony. He whimpered.

The robot took another step forward. Oh god. He was in deep shit. He was really going to die. This thing was going to kill him. As the robot brought its arm up to aim its energy gun at him, it almost seemed to happen in slow motion. At least if he died, he'd get to see May and Ben again. And his parents…

But he didn't want to go. He didn't want to die. He wasn't ready. He still needed to see the last Star Wars movie when it came out. And graduate from high school. And kiss a girl.

And what about Tony? If he died, it would kill him. At that thought, he tried to move again but all he managed to do was make his fingers twitch.

No. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't end like this. Spiderman couldn't be taken out by some stupid robot. If he died now, he'd never find out if he'd aced the Spanish test he took today. And what an inane last thought… Before he could think of a better one, the robot thing's gun thingy whined as it charged. This was it. Hopefully it'd be quick. Or would it hurt? Would dying hurt? His spidey sense spiked and Peter gasped.

A blur of black and tan landed in front of him a split second before the gun went off.

The resulting shockwave shook the ground and shattered all the windows of the buildings on the street. But…Peter wasn't dead.

He frowned and in the next instant his mind took in what it was seeing. Someone in a black t-shirt and khaki pants crouched in front of him, shielding him. With a very characteristic red, white, and blue shield in his hand. Steve. Oh thank god.

Peter could see the robot had been thrown backward a good twenty feet by the shockwave but it was getting back up.

Steve glanced back at him.

"Pe—" Steve almost slipped and said his civilian name in public before he caught himself. "Spiderman? Are you with me?"

Was he? He just wanted to rest now that Steve was here. And Rhodey. He noticed as War Machine sent his own blast at the evil robot. It didn't even put a scratch in it but it did make it pause for a second.

"Spiderman?" Steve turned toward him more fully, but still stayed in his protective crouch in front of him with his shield kept up as a barrier between them and the robot.

And Peter wanted to answer. He really did. But at the moment all he could do was focus on breathing. He was having a hard time catching his breath. So he could talk or he could breathe. He elected for the one necessary to sustain his life.

"Kiddo?" Steve tried again, hand coming down carefully on his shoulder.

Peter managed to make a small pitiful whining noise. At least Steve would know he wasn't dead.

"Cap this thing isn't messing around! I could use some help!" War Machine called out from across the street where he was getting thrown around by the crazy robot creation.

"Yeah well I could really use a comm!" Steve yelled back at him. "How far out is the team? I need to get Pet— I need to get Spiderman out of here. He's hurt."

Why didn't Cap have a comm? Why wasn't he in his uniform? Why didn't anything make sense? Peter tried to take a deep breath to ask but it hurt and got caught in his throat. He coughed. He could taste copper in his mouth. Blood. Had he bit his tongue or was he coughing up blood now? Shit. He couldn't tell. Everything just felt sort of weak and numb.

"They're three minutes out." Rhodey answered. "And Nat has a comm for you argh—"

Peter watched as the robot flung War Machine into a building just like he'd done to Peter earlier. He winced in sympathy and then his eyes widened as the robot turned its attention back on him and Steve.

"Shit." Steve swore as he stood. Peter blinked in shock. He'd never heard Steve swear before.

The robot took a step toward them and Steve flung the shield at it. The shield glanced off it, only pushing the robot back an inch, before it flew back into Steve's hand. Peter had never seen Steve in battle before. He'd transformed from the gentle and unassuming person Peter knew into an imposing and intimidating figure.

"If you're done napping over there I could use a hand!" Steve yelled as he threw the shield again with the same result.

For a second, Peter thought Steve was talking to him. He even tried to get up, but he only managed to roll onto his back with a groan.

"I wasn't napping." Rhodey said in response as he landed next to Cap and the two of them started a coordinated an attack. Oh, Steve had been talking to Rhodey. Not him. He could still stay checked out. That was probably a good thing. It'd taken everything he had just to roll over, which had probably been a mistake. This was definitely a more uncomfortable position. He could feel blood draining down the back of his throat, making him cough. At least that meant it was probably coming from his mouth or nose or something and not his lungs. The thin trickle suddenly turned into a gush and he choked on the coppery liquid. Great. Now he was going to die drowning on his own blood.

He coughed again and instinctively turned his head to the side so he'd stop choking. Good thing some rational part of him still remained intact. He could feel the blood dripping out the side of his mouth and some trickling from his nose and down his cheek. Awesome. He was bleeding from his mouth _and_ his nose.

He watched hazily as Cap and Rhodey continued their attack on the robot. War Machine kept taunting it from the air like an annoying fly until eventually it took off to chase after him. Rhodey led it to a nearby roof. Instead of following after them, Cap turned and ran back to him the second they were in the air. Oh. That whole maneuver had been planned. Rhodey had been trying to draw it away.

"Do you think you can stand?" Steve asked as soon as he reached his side.

Peter let out a weak groan.

"Come on kiddo. We gotta go." Steve grabbed gently under his armpits and pulled him to a stand. When it was clear he wouldn't be able to keep his feet under him, Steve lifted him higher up to carry him. Peter's head fell against Steve's shoulder and he automatically wrapped his arms loosely around the man's neck. Steve had one arm around his upper back and the other one under his butt, holding him effortlessly like a toddler on his hip. If he wasn't so out of it, he'd be embarrassed that Captain America was carrying him like a child, but at the moment all he felt was relieved to be getting away.

"Hang on." Steve warned and then started running. He knew Steve was trying his best to keep him cradled close so the movements didn't jerk him around, but the jostling still hurt. He couldn't hold back the whimpers that escaped.

"I know buddy. I know. I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of here." Steve muttered.

"Cap look out!" Rhodey yelled out a warning and a moment later the dumpster next to them exploded. Steve dove out of the way, rolling across the ground, but careful to keep him caged in his arms, protected from the fall. They hadn't even come to a complete stop before Steve was up and running again.

"Rhodes!" Steve yelled.

"I'm on it." Peter heard the man answer from right behind him. Shit. That must mean the robot was close.

"You know Cap, this thing is really starting to piss me off." Rhodey complained and then Peter heard the characteristic sound of his guns going off.

"Me too." Cap agreed and Peter jerked slightly in his arms as he threw the shield.

"We could really use a little more help." Rhodey grunted.

"Help's here boys." Natasha's voice rang out from above them.

When Peter flicked his eyes up, he was greeted with a welcome sight. Natasha and Clint were rappelling down from the Quinjet as Sam jumped from the open hatch and took flight. Even though he wasn't in the best position, he couldn't help but feel awe at the sight of the Avengers leaping into battle.

"Here Cap." Natasha landed next to Steve and handed him a comm that he immediately placed in his ear while Clint released a volley of explosive arrows at the robot thing, slowly pushing it back from them.

"Thank you. That's much better." Steve said gratefully.

"How's our little spider?" Nat asked in concern and Peter felt her hand brush softly against his back.

"I think he's hurt pretty bad but I haven't exactly had the time to check. We need to get him out of here." Cap answered.

They were doing the thing he hated where they talked about him like he wasn't there.

"What's our play here Cap?" Clint asked and Peter frowned in confusion. He'd heard his voice crystal clear even though he could see the man was currently scaling a building's fire escape across the street to get in a better position on the roof.

"Is this a Code Green guys?" Bruce asked and Peter realized Karen had piped him into the Avengers open comm frequency. That's how he could hear everyone.

"No." Cap answered instantly and with authority. Peter had never heard his command voice before. "We have to minimize the damage here and I need you in the Quinjet. We're going get Peter to you. That's the play."

"St'p…sayin…m'name." He managed to slur out in protest. At this rate someone was going to overhear and figure out that Spiderman's name was Peter.

"Hey." Steve turned to look at him. "You with us buddy?"

"Mmhmm."

"We're going to get you out of here. Sound good?"

"Yeah." That small amount of conversation exhausted him and left him breathless.

The commotion around him continued, but it seemed more distant. Natasha was covering him and Steve as Sam, Clint, and Rhodey continued their assault on the robot.

"What is this thing made out of anyway?" Hawkeye asked as another arrow he shot at the robot barely affected it.

"Vibranium." FRIDAY supplied. "Coated in a covalent alloy I cannot yet identify."

"What? How the hell did this thing get covered in vibranium?" Rhodey asked.

"That's a good question," Steve muttered before ordering, "Banner throw me down a line. I'm going to bring Pe- Spiderman to you."

"You got it." Bruce agreed and a few seconds later Steve grabbed the line and wrapped it around his right wrist, keeping Peter secured with his left.

"Take us up!" Steve commanded.

If Peter had more energy he would've told Steve he should've said 'Beam me up Scotty' instead.

The line tightened and they start to quickly ascend as it reeled them in.

But apparently the robot thing wasn't ready to relinquish them so easily. They were half way to the Quinjet, fifty feet in the air when the thing shot a blast toward them, slicing through their line.

"Shit!"

"Rhodes!"

"Gotcha." War Machine said as he deftly caught them and deposited them gently back on the ground before taking flight again.

"Well that seems like a no go." Sam observed.

"You guys all right?" Bruce asked.

"We're fine." Cap answered. "Right kiddo?"

He nodded.

"All right new plan. Rhodey, you take the kid to the Quinjet."

"Aye aye Cap."

"Ah!" Sam's pained cry erupted across the comm.

"Falcon?"

"Sam!"

"Does anyone have eyes on Sam?" Cap asked.

"I do. He's down Cap, two blocks south of you." Clint answered.

"I'm all right guys." Sam said with a grunt. "It just clipped my shoulder, but the wings are toast. Fuck. I think I'm out."

"Get yourself somewhere safe." Cap ordered.

"Yeah don't worry about me. I'll just hail a cab." Sam joked.

"Shit Cap. I can't get to you. This thing's got me pinned. I'm not going to be able to take Peter." Rhodey said.

"We can't give up our sole air support right now anyway." Natasha said, completely calm and collected even as things seemed to be falling apart around them.

"Dammit." Steve swore.

"We need more help." Nat added.

"I'm with Nat on this one Cap." Clint chimed in. "We can hold this thing off but we're not exactly winning right now and we have to get the squirt somewhere safe."

"I know." Cap sighed. "FRIDAY?"

"Yes Captain?"

"Send out the call to Assemble."

"May I remind you the UN has not yet sanctioned this action?" FRIDAY prompted.

"Yes." Steve said and Peter caught him glancing down at him. "Do it anyway."

"Very well. Call to Assemble sent. Authorization by Captain America."

"Call to Assemble received by Antman. ETA 5 minutes." FRIDAY announced seconds later.

"What's going on guys? What's the world coming to when a guy can't even step out to get a sandwich for five minutes?" Scott complained.

"You've been gone for two hours." Nat called him out.

"Oh whatever."

"Call to Assemble received by Vision and Scarlet Witch. ETA 30 minutes."

"Wanda and I are on our way." Vision spoke over the comm.

"Yeah we heard Viz. FRIDAY told us." Clint sighed. For being part android, Vision never seemed to grasp the technology aspect of things.

"Call to Assemble received by Ironman. ETA 15 minutes."

Peter felt an actual shiver go down his spine at that pronouncement. Tony was coming. His dad was coming.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Tony's voice rang angrily across the comm.

"Tony—" Steve tried to explain.

"No!" Tony interrupted to continue his tirade. "Do you have any idea how bad this looks? I had to leave in the middle of a meeting with the president because Spangles here decided to send out a call to assemble that wasn't even approved by the UN?! When we're on probation? What the actual _fuck_? How am I supposed to explain this now? Huh?"

Peter tried his best to absorb the bulk of that information. The Avengers were on probation? Was it his fault they were going to be in more trouble?

"Tony, it's Peter." Steve said patiently.

"Excuse me? Say again? Because you couldn't have possibly said what I thought you did." Tony said as if he was unaffected, but Peter could hear the slight hint of concern in his tone.

Steve sighed, shifting him slightly as he threw the shield again when the insane robot thing got a little too close for comfort. Natasha shot a few rounds at it, and Peter's close proximity made his ears ring.

"Peter called me for help. This thing tried to take him out. He's hurt and I tried to evac him but I can't without more help. So I'd appreciate it if you'd just _get here_ and stop complaining!" Steve explained tersely.

The silence reverberated heavily over the comm.

"Is he ok?" The fear-laden question from Tony was a complete 180 from the angry yelling before.

"Yeah he's fine." Steve answered. "Or…well…he'll be fine. FRIDAY says he's a little banged up, but nothing we can't fix if I can just get him out of here."

Huh? When had Steve talked to FRIDAY? Maybe she'd told him his condition at some point after he'd gotten the comm.

"What's the situation?" Tony asked, laser focus apparent.

Fatigue weighed heavily down on him and Peter phased in and out as Steve explained everything up to the current point, all the while holding onto him and evading the robot while the rest of the Avengers protected them. It vaguely registered when Antman joined the fray a few minutes later, but his presence wasn't enough to end the fight.

The constant movements coupled with his pain and exhaustion must've made him fall asleep or lose consciousness. He hadn't even realized it until he heard Steve's voice by his ear what seemed like a second later.

"Peter?"

He groaned softly.

"Wake up for me buddy."

"Uh-uh."

He heard Steve snort and the next instant a loud clang sounded from right behind him. Oh shit. Was the robot thing going to get them? Was Steve trying to warm him?

"Gimme." His dad's voice ordered an instant later and a wave of relief crashed over him. As safe as he felt with Steve, it was nothing compared to Tony.

"Let go Peter. Your dad's going to take you." Cap ordered and Peter forced his hands to unclasp from the back of the man's shirt. Cap started to pass him over gently to Ironman.

"Dad." He whined pitifully and reached for him.

"That's right kiddo. Dad's here." Tony soothed as he grabbed him, securing him carefully in his arms. "I gotcha. Everything's going to be just fine."

Peter blamed the small whimpering cries that escaped him on the emotional whiplash from going from thinking he was going to die to being safely ensconced in his dad's arms in such a short span of time.

"Shh. It's all right buddy. You're ok. I'm going to get you out of here." Tony mollified as he held him.

"Bruce is in the Quinjet." Steve reminded Tony.

Peter felt his dad nod and then say over the comms, "All right guys I could use some cover. I've got precious cargo here."

"You heard the man. Let's give him some cover." Cap ordered and the cacophony of noise skyrocketed the instant before Ironman catapulted the two of them into the air.

It only took about five seconds of flight before they landed on the Quinjet. The moment Ironman's boots hit the ground, Peter felt the jerk as the Quinjet took off.

"Put him over here Tony." Bruce said from where he stood by a bed that protruded out of one of the walls. Peter hazily wondered who was flying if Bruce was back here with them. FRIDAY?

His dad walked over and bent forward to lay him down, but Peter didn't want to be parted from him. Tony realized it too when he tried to straighten back up and Peter still clung to him.

The Ironman helmet retracted and actually seeing his dad's face sent another wave of relief through him. "You gotta let go of me buddy, so Bruce can check you over."

Tony tried to put him down again, but Peter still wasn't ready to let go. He let out pitiful whine and held tight.

"Come on Peter. Let go." Tony said with a little more command in his voice. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here with you.

When Peter made no move to relinquish his grasp, Tony tried another technique. "You have to let go if you want me to get out of the suit."

Low blow. He did want Tony out of the suit. As great as it was to cling to Ironman, the armor was hard and uncomfortable. Being held by Tony sounded way better. He reluctantly let go and Tony set him down gently on the bed.

He watched as Tony stepped out of the Ironman armor a second later. He was wearing a dark three piece suit. He obviously hadn't had time to change in his rush to get to him. Peter wanted to reach for him but his arms didn't listen. They stayed stuck at his sides. He felt completely boneless.

His dad wasted no time grabbing the edge his mask and pulling it off.

Shock and fear colored Tony's expression at whatever his face looked like.

"Jesus." Tony muttered.

It was just bad timing that in that next moment he had to cough. He tried to hold it in but couldn't, and the pool of blood that had collected in his mouth erupted like a fountain in a spray of red.

"Bruce! Bruce!" Tony called out in panic as he continued to cough. "He's coughing up blood Bruce."

Tony ran shaky hands over Peter's face. Peter wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort Peter or himself. If it was him, his dad was being a little rough. He wanted to reassure him but the coughing fit had left him short of breath again.

"It's ok baby. You're going to be ok." Tony babbled frantically.

"Tony I need you to move if you want me to help him." Bruce said from behind his dad. "Tony, _move_."

Bruce yanked Tony away and took his place. Instead of giving Bruce space to work, Tony just moved to the head of the bed and kept brushing his hair back and leaning down to periodically pepper kisses over the top of his head.

On one hand it felt nice, but between Tony's affection and Bruce's ministrations as he shined a light in his eyes, nose, and mouth, coupled with the pain that was rapidly ratcheting up in intensity, it was just a little too much. He groaned in annoyance and tried to turn his head away.

"Shh it's ok baby. Hold still for Bruce ok?" Tony soothed, probably misinterpreting his groan as pain. Peter absently noticed it was the second time he'd called him baby in the span of a couple minutes. May used to call him that all the time, but it was the first time he'd ever heard the name from Tony. If he had more blood left in his body he probably would've blushed.

"He's not coughing up blood Tony. It's coming from his mouth." Bruce determined and after a few more seconds of examining his face added, "And his nose."

"Oh thank god." Tony whispered to himself. Peter only heard it because of his super hearing.

"Help me get him out of this." Bruce said, gesturing to his Spiderman suit, clearly unsure of how to get it off.

Peter tried to say no, to protest, to tell them he didn't want to be stripped down to his boxers on the Quinjet, but all that came out was a bundle of consonants. "Nngh."

Tony pressed another kiss to his head before he reached out and pressed the spider logo on the front of the suit and the fabric released. Bruce started gently pulling his right arm out of the sleeve as Tony leaned over and did the same to his left. Peter tried to sit up, thinking it'd make it easier for them, but he only managed to lift his head a couple inches off the bed before Tony's palm pressed against his forehead and gently pushed him back down.

"Don't move kiddo." Tony brushed a hand through his sweat mussed hair again before going back to helping Bruce undress him.

"Don't try to help Peter. Just let us do all the work." Bruce said.

Peter felt like a ragdoll as they manipulated his limp limbs. He couldn't help the few groans and whimpers that escaped when they touched or moved something particularly painful, but eventually he was out of the suit.

"FRIDAY scan him please." Bruce requested and Peter closed his eyes when a laser-like light from the overhead bulkhead above the bed scanned him from head to toe.

He expected FRIDAY to announce his injuries but when she stayed conspicuously silent he opened his eyes and saw Bruce intently reading a Starkpad with Tony trying to peer over his shoulder to see. Bruce took a step away from his dad, pushing his glasses up his nose as he frowned slightly at whatever was on the screen.

"Well what does it say? What's the verdict? Is he ok? Is he going to be ok? He's going to be ok right? He has to be ok."

"Calm down Tony. He's…" Bruce trailed off and Peter saw terror cross his dad's face at Bruce's hesitation.

Bruce looked up and noticed it too a second later. "He's…hurt…but he'll be ok."

Tony let out a harsh breath of air and almost crumpled forward in relief. "Jesus Christ Bruce. Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry." Bruce gave him an apologetic half grin.

"Mm'kay." Peter forced his lips to form the words to try to reassure his dad.

Tony stepped back to his side again and perched on the bed, looking down at him. "Of course you are."

Tony brushed his hair back. "I mean you kind of look like a murder victim right now, but we're going to clean you up and you'll be just fine in no time."

Peter huffed a laugh at that but that turned out to be a mistake because it turned into a painful coughing fit with more blood splattering.

"Shh you're ok. I know it hurts. I know it hurts baby, but we're going to fix you up. Bruce is going to set you up with the good stuff here soon."

It took him a minute to realize the reason Tony was trying to reassure him was because he was making pitiful whimpering sounds. He tried to stop but only half way managed it.

"Where does it hurt Peter?" Bruce asked from over Tony's shoulder.

What didn't hurt was probably the better question. Maybe his right pinky toe? The numbness and weakness he'd felt everywhere was slowly transforming into white hot scalding pain.

"Ev...ever'where." He gasped out.

Bruce just nodded like that was the answer he'd expected as he finished wrapping some kind of sticker around his finger and then started affixing other monitoring stickers to his chest.

"Does it hurt to talk?" Bruce asked after he finished placing stickers on his chest. He knew he wasn't being his typical verbose self but that wasn't why.

"Nn-no." Peter answered. "Jus…can't…c-catch…m'breath."

Even trying to get that out was exhausting. He closed his eyes.

"Bruce." Tony said in alarm.

"I know." Bruce placated calmly and a few seconds later he felt an oxygen mask being placed on him. "We'll fix it when we get to the compound. He'll be ok for now. We're landing in ten minutes."

Compound? Not the Tower? Peter wanted to ask why but he didn't have the air or the energy.

When he felt something cool and wet being repeatedly dabbed carefully against his face a minute later, he blinked his eyes open again. Oh. Tony was cleaning the blood off his face. The cloth in his hand was already stained a nasty reddish brown. He could tell his dad was trying to be gentle but he couldn't help but wince when the cloth bumped his sore nose.

"Sorry." Tony apologized instantly and the odd tone to his voice made Peter examine him closer. The hand holding the cloth trembled slightly, almost unnoticeably, but not to Peter, and when he looked closer he could see that Tony's eyes were uncharacteristically bright. It took him longer than it should've to recognize that Tony was on the verge of tears. For a second it was hard to reconcile the unflappable Tony Stark with the vulnerable man Peter was seeing.

"D-don't cry." He croaked. It seemed a little easier to talk now with the oxygen mask on.

"I'm not." Tony denied but even as he did, a tear welled over and slipped down his cheek. Tony blinked and the same thing happened on the opposite side.

"Are." Peter argued weakly. "Don't. For me. Please. I'm…ok."

"I'm not crying." Tony said again as he quickly wiped the tears away from his cheeks, leaving a bloody smear in its wake on one side. His blood. Peter belatedly noticed it was caked all over Tony's hands.

"It's just allergies. It's dusty in here." Tony sniffled and tried to give him a watery smile.

"You don't have allergies." Bruce called Tony out as he fiddled with something on the crease of his elbow. Peter glanced down. An IV. Weird. He hadn't even felt it go in.

"Shut up Banner." Tony said without any real bite and went back to cleaning the blood off his face. Peter watched him dazedly.

"I'm going to give you a little something to take the edge off, ok Peter?" Bruce said a couple minutes later when he came back from wherever he'd gone. Peter honestly hadn't even noticed he'd left. Reality seemed to be fading in and out.

"Yeah." He mumbled. That sounded great. A few seconds later the pain went from all encompassing to bothersome but ignorable. Oh god that was so much better.

He must've made some kind of sound of relief because Bruce chuckled and asked, "Better?"

"Mmhmm."

"Good."

He thought he might finally be able to let go of consciousness, and he wanted nothing more than to escape it all for at least a little while. Now that he knew he was safe and he wasn't going to die and it didn't hurt quite so much, his eyes slipped closed.

Right before awareness vanished completely he felt Tony kiss his now clean forehead and whisper almost desperately, "I love you kiddo."

"Hmm." He hummed contently. He loved Tony too. He really really did. He wanted to say it back, but when he tried to say it all he could get out was a faint, "Too."

He heard Tony chuckle, but it sounded wet. "I know kiddo."

Was Tony crying again? He couldn't manage to open his eyes to find out. Peter frowned, and a second later Tony lightly brushed a thumb over his crinkled forehead, trying to smooth it out.

"Go to sleep baby." Tony whispered tenderly. "I'll be here when you wake up."

He couldn't have stayed awake even if he'd wanted to. Awareness slipped away.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the wait but it took awhile because this chapter was extra long since I didn't think there was a good way to break it up. Enjoy! This is my favorite chapter so far!


	15. Chapter 15

Tony ran his hand through Peter's tangled locks for the umpteenth time. He hated seeing Peter like this. Hated when he was hurt. It made him crazy. It made want to do anything in his power to keep it from ever happening again. Even if it meant wrapping Peter in bubble wrap and never letting him out of his sight again. Because his son shouldn't be hurt. He felt like it was his failure as a father to protect him. To keep him safe.

When Tony had seen Peter in Steve's arms, his stomach had dropped. The only consolation for him in the time it had taken to get to Peter had been that at least he was with Steve, and if there was anyone he trusted to keep Peter safe, it was Steve.

Then when he'd finally gotten Peter to safety and taken his mask off and seen his kid's face covered in blood, he swore his heart had stopped. And then Peter had started coughing up blood and he'd panicked. Absolutely panicked. Thank god Bruce had been there. Of all the Avengers, he had the most calming presence, and he'd been quick to reassure him.

Still, Tony knew he wouldn't get the visual of Peter coughing up blood out of his head anytime soon. It was probably going to feature in his nightmares.

"We're here." Bruce's declaration interrupted his thoughts.

Tony looked up to see Bruce standing from the seat he'd taken across from Peter's bed where he'd been busy studying a Starkpad with Peter's biometric data and the results of FRIDAY's scan. Bruce walked over and pushed the button on the Quinjet's wall that sent the ramp down. The Avengers' medical team hurried in as soon as the ramp touched down. Bruce led them to Peter and only then did they hesitate.

"Tony, you need to get out of their way." Bruce said as he gripped his bicep and pulled. "They need room to work so we can get him inside and help him."

It almost physically hurt to be separated from Peter when he was in such a vulnerable state but he knew these people were the best, so he let Bruce drag him a few feet away. He still watched them like a hawk as they carefully transferred his kid from the Quinjet's bed onto a gurney. He hovered, ready to jump in if Peter woke up in distress, but his kid remained oblivious.

As soon as the team had Peter settled, they took off toward the Medbay. They'd chosen the compound instead of the Tower because the compound had a complete medical team on call at all times with all the necessary resources. The Tower was fine for basic problems and recovery and it had its own small Medbay but without any of the essential personnel. Bruce could handle most of the small stuff by himself as much as he complained about it, but for the bigger injuries, like this seemed to be, the Avengers still went to the compound.

Instead of following behind, Tony took a few hurried steps forward so he flanked the gurney, walking next to Peter's head so he'd be within sight if his kid woke up. Bruce walked briskly on Peter's other side and it only took them about a minute to reach their destination. The Medbay was strategically close to the hangar to cut down on patient transport time in the case of medical emergencies.

Tony looked on as the med team transferred Peter onto a bed in one of the trauma bays. It was the first place they took any Avenger that'd been hurt on a mission in order to assess them and stabilize them if necessary. Tony had been there a few times himself and it'd never been a pleasant experience, but watching his kid's head loll limply as he was positioned on the trauma bed, was way worse.

The team worked like a well-oiled machine getting monitors in place and plugged in while Bruce and the trauma physician talked quietly in the corner and looked over FRIDAY's scan from the Quinjet. Tony wanted to know what they were saying but he didn't want to leave Peter's side more.

Once Peter was situated, Bruce and the trauma doc, who Tony now recognized as Dr. Murphy, walked to Peter's side and examined him along with all the new numbers and scans. Then they walked away again to the corner of the room to talk, and Tony frowned. If he didn't know any better, he'd think they were keeping him out of the loop on purpose. Tony tried to listen in but only caught a few words he couldn't make sense of like sats, hemothorax, grade three splenic injury and hemoperitoneum.

When they finished their discussion, Dr. Murphy started washing his hands in a sink on the edge of the room and Bruce walked toward him. Tony didn't like the grim expression on his friend's face.

"Tony." Bruce stopped in front of him and pushed his glasses up on his nose, a nervous tic he had. "Let's go talk outside."

"I'm not going anywhere." He protested sharply. "I'm staying with my kid."

The crumple of paper distracted him and Tony watched as a nurse opened a tray filled with surgical tools. A tray that a now gloved Dr. Murphy was walking toward.

He turned nervous eyes back on Bruce. "What's going on?"

"Come on. We'll talk outside." Bruce gripped his shoulder and tried to turn him around but he resisted.

"No. I don't want to go outside. I want to stay here."

None of the people in the room gave any indication that they heard the argument even though there was no way to miss it. They were just exercising tact. Dr. Murphy started painting the side of Peter's chest with some reddish liquid

"Bruce…" Tony said his friend's name almost like a plea. To tell him what was happening. To tell him nothing was wrong. To tell him Peter would be fine.

"Come on. You don't want to stay for this." Bruce pulled at him harder. "Let's give them some space to work."

As Dr. Murphy grabbed a blue tissue from the tray and draped it over Peter's chest, Tony finally acquiesced and let Bruce lead him out the trauma bay doors into the hallway.

"What's-what's going on? What are they doing?" Tony asked in a panic the second they were in the hallway. He tried to crane around to see through the door they'd just walked through, but Bruce held tight and didn't let him.

"Peter has blood built up on his left lung. It's why he was feeling so short of breath earlier. John's going to put in a chest tube to drain it before he takes him to surgery." Bruce explained calmly.

"Surgery?" Tony's heart hammered and the word seemed to echo over and over in his mind. "But you…you said he'd be fine."

"And he will be." Bruce said firmly. "But he needs surgery."

The thought of Peter knocked out while someone operated on him made him breathless. Someone was going to cut into his baby. Oh god oh god oh god. How could this be happening? He thought Peter had some cuts and bruises and maybe a broken bone or a concussion, but not this. Not something that needed surgery. How hurt was he?

"How—" He couldn't get enough breath to voice the question.

"Tony." Bruce leaned in closer. "Tony. Breathe. You need to breathe."

He tried to listen to Bruce. He knew he wasn't doing Peter any good by freaking out, but he couldn't seem to help it. The world started to spin and his knees went weak. Bruce quickly jumped forward to help lower him to the ground with his back against the wall.

"Here." Bruce crouched down in front of him and gently pushed his head down. "Put your head down. Just try to breathe."

Tony rested his forehead on his knees and tried to get himself under control.

"Listen to me Tony. Peter's going to be ok." Bruce murmured, a comforting hand still tangled in the hair on the back of his head. "You know I wouldn't lie to you about that."

He managed to nod. Of course he knew that. Bruce would never lie to him about Peter's health. He clung to that knowledge as he tried to calm down. Bruce wouldn't lie. Peter was going to be ok.

It took a couple minutes before he calmed down enough to lift his head. Bruce's hand slipped from his hair.

"W-what's wrong with him?" He asked, almost afraid to know.

"You mean why does he need surgery?" Bruce clarified.

Tony nodded.

Bruce sighed and pulled his glasses off to rub his eyes before replacing them back on his face.

"His spleen is ruptured." Bruce started and Tony couldn't help the anxious noise that escaped him.

"That doesn't always mean surgery." Bruce hurried to continue. "But in Peter's case, it's severe. For most non-enhanced people, it would mean a splenectomy…a um…a removal of their spleen. But in Peter's case, he _is_ enhanced and he heals fast, all good things in his favor, so it's not what's usually done, but John is going to try to repair it so he doesn't lose his spleen. John's hopeful but there's no guarantee. If it's not going well or it doesn't look like it'll work, he still might have to remove it."

Tony felt sick. Peter might lose his spleen. His son might lose an entire organ.

"Oh my god." He whispered as he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"Hey hey. Tony." Bruce tried to soothe him. "Listen to me. I know it sounds bad, but it's not. I mean it's not ideal, but you can live without a spleen. If John needs to take it out to stop the bleeding—"

"Bleeding?" Tony didn't mean to interrupt but his mind got stuck on the word. He looked up at his friend.

"Yes." Bruce said, eyes filled with concern. "The spleen is a highly vascular organ, which means when it's injured you can lose a lot of blood very quickly."

"He wasn't bleeding." Tony muttered with a frown. He knew he should be able to make sense of this, but his brain seemed to be on the fritz. "I mean his face looked terrible but I fixed that and he-he…he wasn't bleeding."

"That's because he wasn't bleeding where you could see." Bruce explained slowly and usually Tony would hate to be talked to like an idiot but at the moment he was too confused. "Because it's his spleen that's hurt. He's bleeding internally. Into his abdomen. There's some bruising over the area but that's all there is to see."

Peter was bleeding internally and might lose his spleen. Tony felt like his whole world was caving in. His breathing picked up again.

"Do you want to hear more or do you want me to stop?" Bruce asked.

"There's more?" Tony asked, voice strangled.

Bruce nodded.

"Just…just tell me fast. Like ripping off a bandaid." He pleaded. He didn't really want to know but at the same time he _needed_ to know. He needed to know about every cut and bruise that he'd let befall the child he was supposed to protect. He needed to know every way he'd failed to keep his kid safe.

Bruce shifted so he was sitting next to him shoulder to shoulder instead of crouched in front of him.

"Ok." Bruce said and then sighed before continuing. "Besides what we've already talked about, he has five broken ribs on his left side, he broke both bones in his right wrist, he has a bruised left kidney, a broken left ankle, a broken nose, and a bad concussion."

"God." Tony choked out. It was so much. Too much. He could barely process it.

The doors to the trauma bay slammed open and Tony watched as Dr. Murphy and the rest of the medical team wheeled his son right by him on their way to the OR. Peter looked so small and pale. A dressing covered part of his left chest and a clear plastic tube protruded from it connected to a canister that hung from the bed. It was full of blood. God that thing was in his kid. In his chest. And now he was going to the OR to get cut into, which would mean more blood and pain.

Tony watched while they turned the corner of the hallway and disappeared a second later. He barely made it another second before he broke down in deep heart wrenching sobs. He buried his face in his hands until Bruce stretched an arm behind him and pulled him into a half hug.

"It's ok Tony. It's going to be ok. He's going to be ok." Bruce placated as he rubbed his back.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there on the floor with Bruce, crying on and off, but it was long enough for his back to start protesting and his butt to go numb. And apparently long enough for the team to return.

"Oh my god." Steve's devastated voice broke through Tony's misery. He sniffled and lifted his head to look at Steve. The man stood in the hallway looking absolute stricken, the rest of the team behind him looking equally devastated.

"Peter, is he…" Steve trailed off, not even able to form the question.

Tony frowned. He didn't understand what Steve was asking. Luckily, Bruce was more with it.

"He's alive." Bruce answered quickly.

Tony watched the relief that crossed all of their faces.

"He's in surgery." Bruce continued.

"Is it bad?" Clint asked nervously.

"No. He's going to be ok." Bruce said with certainty.

Tony rubbed a hand roughly down his face, trying to wipe the tears away, so he didn't look quite so pathetic in front of the team.

He caught them watching him, probably trying to figure out why he was in the middle of a breakdown if Peter was going to be ok.

"He's hurt pretty bad, though." Bruce explained for him. "It was a little tough to watch."

"Oh." Cap said.

"Is there anything we can do?" Sam offered.

Bruce shook his head.

"Is that thing dead?" Tony tried to inject anger into the question but it just came out tired and defeated.

"You could say that." Clint said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony bit out, not in the mood for any games.

"It self destructed before we could bring it in." Rhodey answered. "There was nothing left of it to take with us."

Tony sighed and ran a hand down his face again, this time in frustration. "So we have no clue where this thing came from and no way to try to figure it out?"

The silence was answer enough.

Great. So no clues as to who or what had made the thing that had incidentally tried to kill his kid.

"We're going to look into it." Nat said. "You just worry about Peter right now."

Tony scoffed. As if he could do anything but worry about Peter. His son was in surgery right now getting cut up, maybe losing an organ. He dropped his head into his hands again and tried to take a few deep calming breaths.

"Come on Tony, let's go wait in Peter's room." Bruce mumbled by his ear as he squeezed his shoulder in comfort. "I know where they're going to take him after the OR."

"Yeah ok." Tony agreed and straightened up. When he blinked back the blurriness in his vision, he noticed Steve holding out a hand to him.

He took it and Cap pulled him up to a stand and then straight into a hug. Usually Tony wasn't a fan of overt physical affection, but this time he leaned into it gratefully. He brought his arms up and squeezed his friend tight, unbidden tears coming to his eyes again. He couldn't hold back a couple of silent sobs as he buried his face in Steve's chest. Steve didn't say anything. He just held him tighter. Tony allowed himself the comfort for another minute before he pulled away.

"Thanks Cap." His voice broke but he couldn't find it within himself to care. "For everything."

For being there for him. For being there for Peter. For keeping his son safe.

Steve nodded and gave him a small, sad smile. "Let us know when he's out of surgery."

Tony nodded back.

"Ready?" Bruce asked from his side.

"Yeah." He answered and then turned back and gave a half hearted wave to the other Avengers. None of them looked worse for wear, luckily. Sam was holding his arm a little awkwardly and Scott had his arm slung over Rhodey's shoulders with his right foot lifted off the ground, but no one looked badly hurt.

Bruce wrapped an arm back around his shoulders and led him away to Peter's room. The other nice thing about the Medbay in the compound was that all the individual rooms were huge suites. Bruce directed him to a sofa under the huge picture window. Tony didn't resist as the man made him lay down.

"Rest while you can. I know you won't once he's here." Bruce ordered. It was true. He wouldn't.

"I'm going to run and grab you some food. Are you going to be ok by yourself?"

"Yeah." Tony mumbled. He wasn't a baby. He could survive alone for a few minutes.

"Ok I'll be right back. Have FRIDAY get me if you need me."

"I'm fine." He argued, but he wasn't sure why he even bothered. They both knew he was far from fine.

Bruce shot him a skeptical look before walking out the door, leaving him alone. Tony rolled onto his side and stared at the empty bed with clean white sheets next to him. Where Peter would be lying soon. He closed his eyes. All he could see was his kid bleeding, whimpering, hurt. What had happened? He'd heard Cap's rendition but Cap hadn't arrived until after Peter had called for help. What had happened before? How had his son gotten so hurt? God, had he been scared?

He sat up abruptly and pulled his FRIDAY integrated glasses out of his suit's front breast pocket. He tapped them on.

"FRIDAY, play me Spiderman's baby monitor footage." He ordered.

"From when boss?" FRIDAY asked.

"From when he put the suit on today." Tony answered.

"Yes boss. Playing."

Tony ran a hand anxiously through his hair and watched as Peter escaped out his school's bathroom window before engaging the robot thing. He watched the robot attack his son. Watched as Peter realized he was in trouble. As he called for help. He'd wanted to call him first, but Steve had been his second choice. Good boy. He watched as the robot repeatedly hurt his son. As Peter lay defenseless unable to move as it aimed its gauntlet at him to finish him off…and Steve arrived right in the nick of time to save him. He realized how close Peter had come to dying today. If Steve had been one second later…

He threw the glasses off and sprinted into the bathroom and promptly lost his lunch.

* * *

A/N: So sorry for the wait! My goal was to update every 2 weeks (and it still is), but 3 weeks might be more realistic for me with everything else going on in my life. So if it's a little longer between new chapters, don't worry it will eventually get updated! As always, I love and appreciate all feedback!


	16. Chapter 16

Tony's heart caught in his throat as he watched the medical staff wheel Peter into the room. Before he could rush over to his kid, Dr. Murphy crossed the room to stand in front of him and Bruce.

"It went well." Dr. Murphy said before Tony had a chance to ask. "I managed to salvage his spleen. He's lucky."

Tony held a shaky hand out to the man. "Thank you Dr. Murphy."

"My pleasure." The surgeon gave him a humble smile. "I'll be back to check on him in the morning. Make sure he rests."

"Of course." Tony said and Dr. Murphy gave him a nod and left.

The nurses finished situating Peter in bed. One of them gave Tony a small smile as he hurried to his son's side.

"He's on a fairly hefty dose of pain meds." She told him. "But call me if he wakes up in pain. Or if you need anything."

"Thank you." He said in appreciation as she left. He'd never thanked so many people in such short span of time before, but he couldn't remember ever feeling so grateful before either. These people had helped save his son.

"He'll be ok Tony." Bruce reassured him again. "He'll probably sleep through the night. You should try to get some sleep too."

It was only a little after nine o'clock, but Tony couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so exhausted.

"I will. Just…not yet." Tony mumbled without looking at Bruce. As much as he needed the rest, he wasn't sure he could bear to close his eyes and be parted from the sight of his son quite yet.

He reached out and lightly brushed Peter's hair back before he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. He lingered for a couple seconds, grateful for the warmth he could feel there, representing life in his kid. As he pulled back he inhaled deeply, and underneath the sterile hospital smell he could smell Peter. His baby. He was alive and he was going to be ok. He straightened back up and tried to convince his anxious racing heart of that fact.

"Do you want me to stay?" Bruce asked quietly.

"No I'll be ok." He whispered back. Peter hadn't stirred but he didn't want to talk too loud and risk waking him up.

"Are you sure?" Bruce questioned and Tony spared him a glance and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah." No.

Bruce stared at him for a couple long seconds before he acquiesced with a nod. "Ok. I'm going to go update the team then."

"Right." Tony rubbed his eyes. He'd forgotten about everyone else. They were all probably waiting anxiously for any news. He knew he should feel guilty for forgetting them, but all he felt was bone weary exhaustion.

Bruce probably noticed it but he didn't comment. Instead, he gave him a bolstering pat on the back before turning to leave.

"Bruce?" Tony addressed his friend before he reached the door. The man turned around and gave him a questioning look.

"Thank you." He swallowed hard. "And can you tell the rest of the team thank you for me? If you guys hadn't been there…"

He couldn't even finish the sentence. He reached out and ran a hand over Peter's hair again, grounding himself.

"You don't have to thank us Tony." Bruce gave him a sad smile. "You know what we'd all be willing to do for Peter."

Tony smiled back at him, one that reached his eyes this time. "I know. That's why I'm thanking you."

And he did know. Steve had jumped in front of that robot's blast without hesitation. He couldn't have known for certain the shield would completely protect him, but he'd done it anyway.

"I'll be back to check on you in a little bit." Bruce said. "And I better find you resting."

"Hypocrite." Tony threw out without any heat.

He heard Bruce chuckle as he left. He spent the next few minutes drinking in the sight of Peter, smoothing his sheets, touching his face, brushing his hair back, needing the constant reassurance of his presence. It still wasn't enough. The anxious itch that'd settled in under his skin hadn't abated.

He leaned over him so they were forehead to forehead, closed his eyes, and whispered, "I love you kid. More than anything."

Peter didn't answer, but Tony felt a little better after saying it. He took a shaky breath in and straightened, wiping away the moisture gathering in his eyes again. He glanced around the room and spotted an armchair in the corner. He left Peter for a few seconds to drag it to his side. He didn't want to sit on the couch. It was too far away. He needed to be able to easily reach out and touch. He sat in the chair and grabbed Peter's hand, holding it between his and brought it to his mouth to brush a kiss across the back of it.

"God kiddo. You can't keep doing this to me. My heart can't take it." He muttered and squeezed Peter's hand. His son remained fast asleep, blissfully unaware of how torn up Tony was.

Tony leaned back with a sigh and drank in Peter's pale face as he watched him breathe. He had no idea how much time passed until he eventually fell asleep.

* * *

A persistent annoying ache along his left side slowly dragged him out of the nothingness. It didn't hurt per se but it was uncomfortable enough to keep him from easily settling back into sleep. He drifted in that half aware state between wide awake and dead asleep, reluctant to join the waking world. He reflexively tried to shift to get away from whatever was jabbing into his side, but instead of escape, the movement brought a flare of actual hurt with it, bringing him closer to awareness.

His brow furrowed. What had he fallen asleep on? The closer he got to consciousness, the clearer it became that he couldn't remember actually falling asleep. Had he drifted off down in the workshop with Tony again? Was the desk edge jabbing him? He was pretty sure he was lying flat though. Maybe he'd fallen asleep watching TV on the couch and the remote control was digging into him. Somehow that didn't seem right either, but the events leading up to wherever he was now didn't immediately come to him. He pried his eyes open and was met with an unfamiliar ceiling.

It was dark and quiet besides the soft rhythmic beeping coming from somewhere behind him. He blinked a few times. What? Where was he? His mind felt foggy and slow. His eyes shifted right and he saw a white wall lined with a sink and cabinets filled with medical supplies. Was he in a hospital? He noticed his right wrist was encased in a cast up to his elbow. Was he hurt? Was he alone? He flicked his eyes left and the building anxiety instantly evaporated.

Tony.

His dad was here. He sat in an oversized armchair at his side and he was bent forward with his head resting on Peter's bed. He was fast asleep, soft snuffling snores coming from his open mouth. A few seconds later, Peter recognized where he was. One of the private rooms in the compound's medical bay. With that realization, everything came rushing back.

The robot. He'd almost died. The Avengers had saved him and Tony had come and whisked him away to the Quinjet. And then…nothing.

His left side twinged again. He glanced down but could only see the crisp white sheets that covered him. He now recognized the weighted down feeling in his limbs and the fuzzy sensation in his head as the product of heavy duty painkillers. He wanted to pull down the covers to see the extent of the damage and what was causing the annoying ache, but he didn't have the strength.

His eyes found his dad's face again. He instinctively lifted the fingers of his left hand and brushed them against Tony's soft hair, seeking comfort. He didn't mean to wake him up, but he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when Tony shot up at the touch.

"Peter." His name came out of his dad's mouth almost reverently.

"Hey." He croaked his own greeting.

Tony leapt forward and engulfed him in a gentle half hug.

"You're ok." His dad mumbled into his ear, and it sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself more than Peter.

He relaxed in his dad's loose hold. They stayed that way for a long minute.

"Are you hurting anywhere?" Tony asked as he eventually released him and pulled away.

Peter shook his head. It wasn't exactly a lie. Nothing really hurt. He just felt sore.

"You sure?"

He nodded tiredly.

"Is…" The words got caught and he cleared his throat before trying again, "Is everyone ok?"

"Everyone's fine buddy." Tony reassured as he pulled his chair even closer before sitting back down. "Sam's shoulder got a little toasted and Scott sprained his ankle. No biggy. You're the only one that really got hurt."

"Sorry." He rasped out. His dad had that scared and unsettled look on his face again.

"It's not your fault." Tony said and ran fingers lightly through his hair.

Peter's eyes drifted closed again.

"You did good kiddo." Tony said. "You called for help when you needed it. I'm proud of you."

Peter cracked an eye open and argued, "I let the robot thing kick my ass."

"You didn't _let_ it do anything." Tony argued back. "It took the entire team to take it out. You did a good job holding it off for as long as you did."

"Hm." He said because he didn't agree but he didn't feel like arguing about it, a mannerism he'd picked up from Tony.

He had more things he wanted to ask and say but sleep beckoned again and he didn't fight it. Part of him felt bad about waking his dad up just to fall asleep on him, but he'd needed the comfort. The whole almost dying thing had thrown him for a loop. Like always, Tony had given him exactly what he'd needed. He slipped back to sleep to the soothing sensation of his dad's fingers tickling his scalp.

* * *

"How are you holding up?" Steve's soft question echoed in the silence of Peter's Medbay room as he walked in.

Tony tried in vain to rub the mounting fatigue out of his eyes before looking over at the man.

"Just dandy." He replied sarcastically.

Steve snorted and stared at him for a few seconds. "You look terrible."

Tony knew it was true. He hadn't fallen asleep again after Peter had woken him up around three in the morning.

"If you're just here to read me the riot act, you can go. Bruce already beat you to it." Tony rolled his eyes and turned back to his kid.

Steve hummed and Tony didn't have to see him to know the supersoldier was taking in all the details of the room. The barely touched breakfast and lunch trays on the table next to him, the rumpled suit he'd been wearing for going on 30 hours now, and his overall exhausted demeanor.

"It doesn't look like it took." Steve said lightheartedly.

"Well, you know me." He responded with a small shrug in his typical self-deprecating way.

"I do." Steve said but without any of the levity Tony had expected.

He spared a glance over at his friend. Steve stood a couple feet away, arms crossed in front of his chest with a displeased expression on his face. Great. So it was going to be like that. Tony remained stubbornly quiet.

"Bruce said he woke up earlier." Steve commented as he closed the distance to Peter's bed and looked down intently at the kid.

"Yeah awhile ago." Twelve hours ago to be exact, not that he was going to admit to Steve that he'd been counting.

"Just long enough to ask if everyone else was ok before falling back asleep again." Tony added and choked out a short laugh devoid of any humor. It'd been just like the kid. Worrying about everyone else, giving next to no thought to himself.

Steve sighed softly, likely having the same thoughts as Tony. "He's a good kid."

"The best." Tony agreed instantly.

He tensed involuntarily when Steve reached toward Peter. He noticed his protective instincts bristled at anyone so near his kid in such a vulnerable state, regardless of how much he trusted them. It was kind of ridiculous but he couldn't seem to help it. He shoved down the desire to push Cap away and watched intently instead as his friend gently pulled Peter's covers back to survey the damage himself.

Steve's face twisted at what he saw.

"Bruce said he's going to be ok." Steve said, but came out as an inquiry.

"Yeah he is." Tony confirmed.

Steve nodded and set the covers back down.

"He's going to be laid up for a bit though." Tony added with a sigh.

"He's not going to like that." Steve turned and gave him small grin.

Tony snorted. "No. He's not."

"I don't envy you that." Steve chuckled. "He's going to be a handful."

"Thanks." Tony scoffed. At this point he'd take a bored and frustrated Peter any day over this silent and still one.

"How are Sam and Scott doing?" Tony asked. Bruce hadn't said anything earlier when he'd stopped by and Tony had forgotten to ask.

"They're fine." Steve waved a hand flippantly.

"Hmm. Heard anything from the Accords committee yet?" Tony asked even though he didn't really want to know.

"Steve?" Tony prodded when his friend didn't answer.

Steve's grimaced. "We're handling it."

"Yeah? What does that mean?"

"It means don't worry about it. Just worry about Peter."

Tony scoffed. As if he could do anything else. He considered pushing, but Cap was right. Even if he did know the details, he didn't have the energy or the desire right now to deal with the fallout of violating the Accords. Not with Peter hurt the way he was. His kid took priority.

He wondered not for the first time since Peter had come hurtling into his life, if his own father had ever felt that way about him. He doubted it.

"Do you want me to bring down some clothes for you? You could shower? Try to get some rest? That couch looks comfortable." Steve suggested. They were back to this again.

"It's lumpy." He argued.

Steve eyed it. "No it's not."

Tony sighed.

"You wouldn't be leaving him. The shower's right there." Steve indicated the door to the bathroom suite on the wall behind him.

"Fine." He reluctantly acquiesced. He knew he was probably getting overly ripe and a refreshing shower might actually help wake him up a bit.

Steve beamed and walked out of the room. Tony figured it'd take him awhile to grab his clothes so he was surprised when Steve came back a few seconds later with a duffel bag in his hand. It'd obviously been right outside the door.

"You brought that down with you, didn't you?" Tony deadpanned.

"Guilty." Steve smiled and tossed it at him. "Go shower."

Tony glanced back over at Peter who gave no sign he was on the verge of waking up.

"I'll keep an eye on him for you." Steve said and squeezed his shoulder.

Tony stood slowly, knees and back popping, as he shouldered the duffel bag and made his way to the bathroom. As he closed the door behind him, he caught sight of Steve getting comfortable in the chair he'd just vacated. In the midst of all his worry, he took a second to be grateful. How many people could say they had Captain America to personally watch over their son? Just him. And thank god for that.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for your wonderful reviews and for patiently hanging in there between chapter updates! I promise the next chapter will be longer and from Peter's perspective. Let me know what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

Someone was touching him. Fingertips brushed across his chest and pressed on his stomach. It wasn't exactly painful but it didn't feel good either. The sensation was uncomfortable enough to awaken him.

"Everything looks good. He's healing nicely." An unfamiliar voice rumbled from close by. Too close.

Peter tensed and his eyes snapped open instinctively, but instead of some imminent threat, Peter saw his dad standing next to a tall man in scrubs by his bed. He relaxed. He didn't know the man's name but he recognized him as one of the Avengers' doctors. That's right. He'd gotten hurt and he was still in the compound's Medbay.

"His chest tube hasn't had any output in the last twelve hours, so it's ready to come out." The doctor told his dad. Neither of them had noticed he was awake yet.

"That's great." His dad said with a relieved sigh. "So you're going to do that now?"

"I'd prefer to wait until he wakes up." The man glanced over at him and blinked in surprise. "Oh. You're awake."

"Yeah." He half croaked, half whispered. "Hi."

The man's lip twitched up in a small half grin at the greeting. "Hi Peter. I'm Dr. Murphy. How are you feeling?"

"Ok I guess."

"Good. That's what I like to hear." The man pulled the sheet back from his chest and Peter caught sight of himself. A large bandage covered part of his left abdomen and another one covered his left chest.

"I was just telling Mr. Stark here that you're doing better. You're a very fast healer." Dr. Murphy observed as he snapped on a pair of gloves and started peeling back the bandage over his chest.

Peter looked over at Tony who now stood on the right side of the bed, watching Dr. Murphy. It was weird hearing Tony referred to as Mr. Stark when everyone else usually called him his dad now. The time when he used to call him Mr. Stark seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Fast healing's kind of my thing." He joked, holding back a wince as Dr. Murphy pulled back the bandage and something tugged uncomfortably in his chest.

"So I hear." Dr. Murphy smiled and glanced over at Tony. His dad still hadn't said anything but he was watching closely.

"So um what are you doing?" Peter asked as Dr. Murphy grabbed a small scissors to cut at something and the tugging increased. He couldn't really see because the bandage Dr. Murphy was holding up was in the way.

"I'm taking your chest tube out." Dr. Murphy answered matter of factly as he peeled the bandage off before replacing it with a new one. "When you came in there was blood pooling on your left lung and causing it to collapse. I needed a way to drain it. And it's done its job, so now it's ready to come out."

"Oh." He frowned, trying to absorb that information. That robot thing must've hurt him more than he thought. He'd gotten a brief look at the plastic tube coming out of his chest when Dr. Murphy changed the dressings. It was bigger than he thought it would be. He was surprised it didn't hurt more than it did.

"I'm going to need you to take a deep breath for me and when I tell you, let it out. Ready?" Dr. Murphy coached.

Was he ready? Not really, but he supposed he had to be. His dad must've sensed his trepidation because he shuffled closer and carded a hand through his hair. He nodded.

"Ok. Deep breath." Dr. Murphy instructed and Peter took as deep of a breath as he could. That hurt. It pulled his stomach funny and made his chest ache.

"Good. Now let it out."

Peter forcefully exhaled and the weird tugging sensation in his chest spiked to sharp burning pain. It took his breath away and at the end of his exhale he winced and forgot to inhale again. After a few seconds the pain faded and he became aware of Dr. Murphy pressing tape firmly against the new bandage on his chest and Tony brushing fingers through his hair. He took a hesitant stuttering breath in and when it didn't hurt, he opened eyes he'd scrunched closed earlier.

"Sorry." Dr. Murphy apologized. "I know that stings a bit."

"Yeah." He agreed somewhat breathlessly, but then thought that might seem rude so he added, "It's all right."

Dr. Murphy smiled at him in amusement.

"I'll let you get some more rest." The man said to him before addressing Tony, "Let me know if anything comes up. I'll be back a little later to check in."

Tony nodded and leaned across him to shake the man's hand, "Thanks again Doc."

"It's no problem. You have a remarkable young man here." Dr. Murphy winked at him and Peter gave him a tired half smile back.

"Oh believe me I know." Tony agreed with his own signature smirk.

They both watched the man leave. As soon as he was out of sight, Tony looked down at him and his smile turned softer. He brushed his hair back again.

"How are you doing buddy?"

"I'm ok." He answered honestly.

His dad hummed and Peter could see the worry on his face.

"I've had worse." He tried to joke.

"Yeah I don't think so." Tony snorted, so Peter counted that as a success. The hair brushing continued. His eyes fluttered closed.

"Maybe not," He agreed.

He waited for Tony to say something else, but he stayed quiet, probably hoping he'd fall asleep again. It was working. He was just on the edge of sleep when the conversation between Steve and Tony about the Avengers being on probation popped into his head and guilt washed over him.

"Are you going to get in trouble for helping me?" He mumbled in question. The fingers paused briefly in their ministrations before continuing.

"Don't worry about that." Tony mumbled back.

"You are." Peter accused when he recognized his dad was dodging the question.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle it." Tony said.

Peter peeked his eyes open at that. "Still don't want to get you in trouble because of me."

"It's not your fault kiddo."

"Kind of feels like it is." He mumbled.

"It's not." Tony said with conviction.

Peter gave him an unconvinced look.

"Besides," His dad leaned in and whispered next to his ear, "I don't know if you've heard, but I'm Tony Stark."

An amused grin split his face. It kind of ached and his skin felt too tight. He remembered he'd taken quite a few blows to the head and wondered fleetingly what he looked like right now. Probably not too good.

"I'm Ironman." Tony continued boldly. "I'm untouchable."

Peter desperately wished he could believe that.

"Yeah? What about the rest of the Avengers?" Peter asked jokingly.

"Well, we voted and I know how much you love Cap, but we've decided to give him up as a ritual sacrifice to appease the government baddies."

Peter blinked. He knew Tony wasn't serious, but he had a feeling there was some hidden truth behind the words.

Tony must've seen the apprehension on his face.

"I'm kidding." His dad reassured with another gentle smile and a brush of his hair. "No one's getting sacrificed. Everything's being taken care of. Don't worry. The most important thing is that you're safe."

Peter didn't necessarily share that viewpoint but he knew it was pointless to argue. He let his eyes slip closed again.

"You really scared me kiddo." Tony admitted and dropped a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm sorry." He practically slurred in exhaustion.

"It's ok. I guess I can forgive you." Tony said jokingly.

"Big of you." He joked back with a tired smirk and was rewarded with an amused snort from Tony.

"Get some sleep buddy." His dad whispered, and it was kind of embarrassingly how quickly his grip on consciousness slipped away.

* * *

 _Peter sprinted away but he wasn't fast enough. The heat of the blast engulfed his left foot. He cried out as he slammed into the ground. The robot loomed over him and all he could do was stare up at it. He couldn't move. Instead of leveling its gauntlet at him it stepped forward and planted a foot on his chest._

 _"N-no." He groaned but could barely get it out around the crushing pressure._

 _He somehow managed to lift his arms up and grip the robot's foot but no matter how hard he pushed he couldn't get it to budge. The robot leaned even more onto him._

 _"S-stop. Please!" He begged._

 _The pressure kept increasing. He whimpered. He couldn't breathe. Where was everyone? Weren't the Avengers coming to help him? Where was his dad?_

 _He tried to call for help but he was suffocating. He didn't have any breath to speak. He felt his strength weakening and the weight on his chest escalated to unbearable pain. Spots danced on the edge of his vision. Oh god, he was going to die. The robot was going to squish him like an actual bug._

 _"Peter." He heard his dad's voice calling his name. It sounded like it was coming from far away, but he couldn't see the familiar streak in the sky or hear the characteristic Ironman repulsors. He used the last of his dwindling energy to twist his head left and right to try to find him, but all he saw was the empty street._

 _He tried to call out for him, but he was too breathless. The blackness in his vision increased, stretching across to encompass his entire sight. Shit._

 _"Peter. Wake up." His dad said again, sounding closer this time._

 _Huh? He was awake, wasn't he? He was dying. Maybe he was hallucinating. His brain misfiring as it lost oxygen._

 _"Peter!"_

 _The robot and the crushing pain accompanying it suddenly disappeared._

His eyes snapped open and met his dad's. He gasped in relief. He could breathe. His chest ached a little but it was nothing compared to the agony from his dream.

"That's it. Breathe buddy." His dad soothed as he moved from leaning over him to sitting next to him on the bed so he could gather him carefully in his arms.

"You're ok. It was just a bad dream." Tony mumbled into his hair as he held him. "You're safe."

He rolled over to bury his face in Tony's chest. He fumbled awkwardly with his right arm for a moment, forgetting it was casted, but managed to find a way to rest it on his dad's chest and grasp the man's shirt with his free fingers. His dad ran a hand down the back of his head and started rubbing his back slowly.

He took a few deep breaths to try to calm down, to re-center himself. The robot was gone. He wasn't dead. He was at the compound and his dad was right here. Everything was ok.

He absently noted that breathing deep and lying on his left side made it ache horribly, but it was worth it. After a couple minutes in his dad's arms, the fear had seeped away. His rabbiting heartbeat had calmed back down to a normal rate and air no longer felt like a rare commodity.

"I'm ok now." He mumbled shakily into Tony's shirt, trying to reassure him. He could hear his dad's heart, racing faster than normal.

"Yeah?" Tony asked quietly.

"Yeah." He confirmed, trying to sound more certain. "Thanks."

Tony kissed the top of his head.

"I thought I was going to die." He admitted, barely above a whisper.

He felt his dad stiffen under him.

"With the robot thing. I thought it was going to kill me." He tried to explain.

"Was that what you were dreaming about?"

"Yeah. But in my dream…you guys didn't get there in time."

"But we did." Tony affirmed. "We did get there in time kiddo. That didn't happen. It wasn't real."

"I know." He whispered miserably. "It's just…I really thought I was going to die. I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again."

He sniffled and blinked to try to stem the tears that started prickling in his eyes.

"Hey." Tony soothed. "I'm right here and you're ok. And you know I'm always going to do everything in my power to keep it that way."

"I know." Peter said. He did know. "It was just scary."

He hated admitting that he'd been scared. That in that moment Spiderman hadn't been brave, but terrified. But this was Tony. He could admit that weakness to his dad.

"You want to know something?" Tony asked softly.

Peter nodded against his chest.

"I was scared too." Tony admitted in a whisper.

"You were?"

His dad nodded.

"Why?"

"Well," Tony tangled his fingers in his hair, "I heard you were hurt and that scared me. And then even when I knew Cap had you, I was scared because you were still in danger and I wasn't there. I was worried something worse might happen before I could get to you."

"Really?" He craned his neck back to look at his dad's face.

"Uh-huh." Tony said and then took Peter's new position as an opportunity to press a kiss against his forehead. "And then I saw you and I saw how hurt you were and that scared me."

Before he could respond, his dad continued, "And then you had to have surgery and even though everyone kept telling me you'd be ok, I was scared."

"Wow." Peter mumbled. He didn't know he'd freaked Tony out so badly.

"Yeah."

"Who knew Spiderman's secret power was scaring Ironman?" He shot his dad a wide grin.

Tony let out a surprised laugh.

"God I love you kid." Tony ruffled his hair.

"I love you too." Peter echoed before he burrowed his head into a more comfortable position on his dad's chest.

Sleep pulled at him again. He didn't resist it. He wasn't afraid of it for once. His dad was there and he was still holding him. When he felt Tony shift next to him he gripped his dad's shirt tighter.

"Stay? Please?" He implored in a whisper, too worn out to care if he sounded pathetic. He just needed his dad.

"Of course buddy. I'm not going anywhere." Tony mumbled. "I'm just trying to get us in a more comfortable position, okay?"

"Mmhmm." That was fine with him.

He remained half aware as his dad carefully maneuvered them down on the bed so they were lying flat. A couple seconds later Tony grasped him gently around the upper arms and pulled him farther up on his chest. He groaned in protest at the manhandling. He'd been so comfortable and moving kind of hurt.

"Hold on kiddo." Tony soothed.

He listened as Tony fussed with something and then a few seconds later his dad gripped him carefully again and readjusted his position so soft pillows were now stuffed under his half propped left side and stomach. He was still mostly lying on his dad's chest but the pressure on his hurt side and abdomen had eased up significantly now that he wasn't completely lying on it. Oh. That felt a lot better actually.

He hummed in contentment.

"Better?" Tony asked with amusement.

"Mmm."

"Good night buddy." Tony said as he started playing with his hair again. He was out like a light from one breath to the next.

The next time he woke to mumbled voices talking. He cracked his eyes open saw his dad talking to the same doctor from before. It was like an odd kind of déjà vu.

"His incision site is completely healed." Dr. Murphy told Tony.

Peter glanced down and noticed the sheet was pulled down and both the bandages that he'd on before were gone. A fresh long pink horizontal scar decorated the left upper side of his abdomen. He'd never considered himself vain before but he really hoped his healing powers would erase it.

"His healing works even faster than I expected. At this rate, he'll only have to stay with us a couple more days before he can finish recovering back home."

"That's great." Tony said, relieved.

"How about I just go home today?" Peter suggested with a goofy smile. Both men turned to look at him.

"Not quite yet kiddo. Sorry." Tony said as he took a step forward and ruffled his hair.

"But soon?" He threw his most pitiful look at his dad.

Tony chuckled, glancing back at the doctor. "Yeah bud. Soon."

Peter yawned and Tony smirked.

"I don't know what your hurry is. You've been sleeping away most of your time here anyway."

"It's how he heals." Dr. Murphy added.

"I know." Tony shot him a look of consternation, the first non-positive expression Peter had seen his dad give the doctor since he'd been there.

Instead of getting offended, the man just smiled. "Of course you do. Anyway, take it easy Peter. I'll check in on you tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Feel better." Dr. Murphy paused in the doorway to say pointedly.

"Ok." Peter blinked. He didn't know what the appropriate response was to that. He definitely wanted to get better but he didn't exactly have control over it.

In the midst of his half frown, the doctor disappeared beyond the doorway and left.

"So I'm on the mend?" Peter threw another grin at his dad.

"You're on the mend." Tony confirmed and then yawned. Peter took a second to observe his dad. He was in a comfortable black Stark Industries hoodie and a pair of dark jeans, but he looked exhausted. There were dark bags under his eyes and his normally perfectly styled hair was flat. He didn't look the worst Peter had ever seen but he didn't look that great either.

"What day is it? How long have I been here?" Peter asked as he tried to sit up. It strained his abdomen and Tony was quick to help prop him up with a pile of pillows.

"It's Monday."

"Seriously?" The robot attack had happened Friday afternoon. He'd pretty much lost an entire weekend.

"Seriously." Tony deadpanned.

Peter glanced around the sterile and sparse Medbay room. "Where is everyone?"

"Everyone who?"

"The Avengers. Duh." He rolled his eyes.

"Did you really just duh me? Did your mouth seriously just form the word duh aimed at me?" Tony raised his eyebrows in mock surprise.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He used to duh May and Ben all the time but apparently he'd never leveled the expression at Tony.

"Yeah." He said around his amusement.

"Yeah? Oh it's on kid." Tony warned before leaning over and tickling him. He could tell his dad was being extra careful. His fingers barely ghosted his sides and he mainly made contact with his right side. Still, he couldn't hold back the helpless soft laughs that escaped him. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. He really must be healing.

"S-stop." He haphazardly pushed at this dad's hands.

"What was that? Keep going?" Tony mock asked.

"N-no. T-that's the opposite of what I…I s-said."

Tony let up eventually and his laughs tapered off.

Before he finished catching his breath, his dad leaned over and kissed the crown of his head.

"How are you feeling buddy?"

"Um…ok." He shrugged. He wasn't lying for once.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm ready to go home." Peter said innocently.

"You must be feeling better." Tony smirked.

Peter smiled and shrugged noncommittally. He didn't feel great, but he wasn't so bad. He felt better than the last time he'd woken up at least. He yawned again. He was still super tired.

"But seriously where is everyone else?" He asked since he hadn't seen anyone besides Tony. "Are they um mad at me or something?"

Tony's brow furrowed as he sat down on the corner of the bed. "No one's mad at you kiddo."

"Then why hasn't anyone come to visit?"

"I didn't think you'd be up to visitors."

Peter frowned. "I mean they don't have to visit me, but if they uh want to it'd be nice."

"Ok." Tony agreed without argument.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They've all been chomping at the bit to see you so if you feel up to it I suppose I can let them stop by."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me." Tony said with a sigh and another brush of a hand through his hair. "I haven't done anything to deserve it."

"You saved me." He argued with a sleepy smile.

Tony smiled back but tugged lightly on his hair as he said, "If you want to get into semantics then technically Steve saved you. And Rhodey. And the rest of them. I barely came in a close fourth."

"But you're the one that got me out of there." Peter argued. He knew how prone his dad was to feeling guilty and he didn't want that.

Tony sighed. "I wish I'd been there sooner."

"You came." Peter yawned again. "That's what counts."

He didn't hear if his dad said anything because he couldn't stay awake any longer to belabor the point.

* * *

The TV droning in the background woke him sometime later.

 _"And in other news tonight…the Avengers traveled to DC today to take part in an emergency session at the UN after violating the current Accords agreement to give aid to Spiderman last Friday. The resulting unsanctioned clash between the Avengers and a robot of yet unidentified origin resulted in millions of dollars of property damage, but no casualties. The speed with which the Avengers came to Spiderman's defense also brought into question how well acquainted the Avengers team is with the masked vigilante who works outside the Accords. As of now there has been no comment from either the Avengers or the UN…"_

Peter opened his eyes, expecting to see Tony sitting at his side but instead he saw Clint leaning back in the chair, feet propped up on his bed, throwing popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth as he watched the TV.

"Clint?" Peter frowned.

"Oh hey buddy." Clint greeted him with a smile as he pulled his feet off the bed and quickly turned the TV off.

"Hey." He said back and cleared his throat when his voice cracked from disuse. "Where's—"

"He's right there." Clint interrupted and gestured behind him toward the couch where his dad was fast asleep in the same clothes Peter had seen him in before, making small snoring noises and drooling on the throw pillow stuffed under his head.

"He conked off about an hour ago." Clint added. "Do you want me to wake him up?"

"No." Peter shook his head and started to sit up. "Let him sleep. He probably needs it. Um, what time is it?"

"A little after seven." Clint said as he helped him adjust to get comfortable against his pillows and then he handed him a glass of water with a straw, which Peter drank greedily.

"Is everyone else in DC?" He asked once he'd downed nearly the entire glass.

Clint's face twisted in dismay. "You heard that huh?"

"That you're all in trouble because of me? Yeah."

"We're not in trouble because of you." Clint sighed heavily. "We would've gotten involved either way. We just got there a little faster because you needed us. So really it's because of you that there was less damage and no casualties."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No I'm not." Clint stated. Peter quirked an eyebrow but it didn't seem like the man was lying.

"I'm serious." Clint reiterated.

Peter sighed. "It still seems like a mess."

"Don't worry. We'll figure it out. Cap, Nat, and Rhodes went down to DC to try to smooth things over."

"Dad didn't want to go?"

"Not a chance. He wanted to stay here with you." Clint ruffled his hair with a smile. "Besides, your dad has a lot of strengths but diplomacy has never really been one of them, so we're keeping him on reserve."

Peter snorted.

"So how'd you draw the short straw?" He asked after a few seconds passed in silence.

"What do you mean kid?" Clint frowned.

"What'd you do to get stuck on babysitting duty?"

"I'm not babysitting. I'm _visiting_."

"Uh-huh." Peter said skeptically.

"What? I wanted to check up on you. Make sure you were doing ok. That robot really did a number on you."

"I'm fine." He shrugged. "Just kind of embarrassed."

"You're embarrassed?" Clint's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"I should've done better against that thing." He said as he fidgeted with the blanket to avoid Clint's eyes.

"No." Clint said with enough force that Peter couldn't help but look up. "You did good kid. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I just think…if I'm going to be an Avenger some day…I should been able to take on one stupid robot." He argued haltingly, still looking down and playing with some frayed threats on the blanket.

"Kid. Peter. Listen." Clint said as he leaned in closer and ordered softly, "Hey, look at me."

Peter acquiesced and glanced up but his head stayed bowed.

"It took the entire team to take that thing out." Clint argued. "You went toe to toe with it for almost ten minutes. If anything, you should be proud. Hell, if it'd been just me against that thing I don't know if I could've held out for that long."

Peter blushed. He wasn't used to this more serious side of Clint.

"Really?" He asked tentatively.

"Really." Clint said emphatically then asked, "Does that mean I shouldn't be an Avenger?"

Peter shook his head. That was crazy. Hawkeye was amazing.

"Ok. You get what I'm saying?"

He nodded. Maybe Clint was right. Maybe getting his butt kicked this one time didn't automatically make him a bad superhero.

"Good." Clint gave him a small smile and then grabbed another handful of popcorn from the bag in his lap and threw it in his mouth as he held the bag out to him. "You want some?"

Peter's lips curved up into a smile. That was the thing he loved about Clint. He was always so easy to be around. He never made anything awkward. It was a relief for someone like Peter who was used to feeling awkward most of the time in social situations.

"Thanks." Peter grabbed a handful at the same time his stomach growled. "I'm starving."

"If you're hungry, I can get you some actual food." Clint offered. "You're allowed to eat right? I probably should've asked that before the popcorn."

"Um…I think so? I don't know." He hoped so.

Clint dug out the bed control and pressed the call button. A minute later, a nurse walked in.

"You guys doing ok in here?" He asked.

"Yeah, do you know, can the kid have food? He's hungry."

"Let me check." The man smiled. "If he can, I'll bring him a tray."

"Thanks." Clint said.

"Yeah thanks." Peter echoed.

"So, you want to watch some TV? Something that's not the news?" Clint proposed as soon as the nurse had left.

"Sure."

"All right what do you want to watch? I'm sure FRIDAY can stream anything through on the TV. Right FRIDAY?"

"That is correct." She answered, and it gave Peter some comfort to know that even though he was stuck in the Medbay she was still there.

"So what do you feel like watching?"

"I don't care. Whatever you want." He could already feel fatigue pulling at him. Whatever Clint put on he wasn't sure he'd be able to stay awake to finish it.

"Ok. FRIDAY put on Twilight." Clint requested.

A second later the opening credits started playing on the screen.

"Ah no man. Come on." Peter protested.

"Hey! Have you ever seen it?"

"No but I know it's terrible."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

"Don't knock it until you try it."

"Fine." Peter sighed.

The nurse brought in a tray loaded with food a few minutes later, which Peter promptly demolished.

He didn't want to admit it, but the stupid vampire movie sucked him in. He watched it, entranced.

Once it was over, Clint turned to him, "You liked it huh?"

"No one can ever know about this." Peter said solemnly. If the Avengers found out, they'd never hear the end of the teasing.

"Nat already knows." Clint said. "She's the one who got me into it."

"No way! Black Widow likes Twilight?"

Clint arched an eyebrow at him.

"I mean Natasha likes Twilight?" He corrected himself.

The man nodded.

"Is it a secret?" Peter mock whispered.

"What do you think?" Clint answered cryptically.

"Got it. I'll take it to my grave." He deadpanned.

Clint chuckled and leaned forward to ruffle his hair. "You better kid. For both our sakes."

"You think maybe she'd watch it with me sometime?"

"Tell you what, when she gets back from DC I'll sneak her down here to watch the sequel with us."

"Awesome." Peter grinned. "When are they getting back? I'm supposed to get out of here in a couple days and then I have to go back to school."

"I don't think we know when exactly, but I wouldn't worry about school."

"Why not?"

"Oh. Tony didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"We might have accidentally a little bit damaged your school?" Clint winced.

"What? Like the gym got wrecked or something?"

"Yeah. The gym." Clint nodded. "And a lot of the other parts."

"What?! You guys destroyed my school?" Holy shit.

"Hey it was the robot." Clint defended. "And it's not destroyed per se. It just needs a little TLC."

"How?"

"Wanda and Viz may have gotten a tiny bit carried away." Clint held up two fingers with barely any space between to emphasize.

"Oh god. What's going to happen now? Where's my phone? I need to text Ned." He probably should've thought of texting his friend earlier but he'd mostly been sleeping. Ned was probably worried sick by now. He glanced around but his phone was nowhere in sight.

"Relax. Your dad's got it covered. The construction crew has already been out there and it should be fixed within a few weeks."

"Weeks!"

"Shh." Clint held a finger to his lips and glanced back at Tony's figure on the couch. His dad gave a little snort and shifted but made no indication he was waking up.

"Three weeks?" He repeated in a harsh whisper. "What's everyone supposed to do until then?

Clint shrugged.

" _Clint_."

"Don't stress kid. Everything will work out."

Peter sighed. He didn't have the same unerring faith. Maybe Ned had more details. "Do you see my phone anywhere?"

"No." Clint responded without looking.

"You didn't even look." Peter accused.

"You're not supposed to be worrying. You're supposed to be resting."

"I'll worry less if I can talk to Ned."

"Nope."

"Clint." He whined.

"Oh what was that? You want to watch another movie? Sure Peter we can do that. FRIDAY play the next Twilight movie."

Peter grumbled, upset his concerns were being so expertly ignored. "I thought we were going to wait for Nat."

"There are like three more after this one. There'll be one we can watch with her. Do you want more popcorn?"

"Yeah." He admitted begrudgingly.

"Ok I'll be right back." Clint gave his hair another ruffle as he got up and left to make more popcorn.

Peter sunk further down against his pillows as he waited. He glanced over at his dad. At some point he'd rolled over so his back was facing Peter now. Knowing his dad was in the same room gave him a sense of security. Peter yawned. Now that there was nothing around to entertain him, his whole body ached and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open. He let them slip closed and figured he could just rest them for a few minutes until Clint got back with the popcorn. He fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the wonderful feedback. Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey guys." Bruce greeted quietly as he walked into Peter's room, a coffee in each hand. He took a sip of his own before handing the other one to Tony. He threw an apologetic look to Clint, "Sorry, I didn't know you'd be here or I would've brought you one."

"Don't worry about it." Clint smirked from where he sat on the couch. They'd switched spots after Tony had woken up at the crack of dawn. Clint had slept most of the morning away but he'd woken up when the doctor had come in to check on Peter.

Bruce observed both of them for a few seconds, taking in their rumpled clothes and disheveled hair, before asking, "Did you both stay here last night?"

Tony scoffed in reply at the stupidity of the question. Of course he'd stayed.

"Yeah." Clint rubbed a hand over his face.

Bruce shot the archer a questioning gaze.

"I accidentally fell asleep." Clint shrugged nonchalantly.

Tony scoffed again. Yeah right. Like either he or Bruce believed that. Clint liked to play the laid back clueless act, but they both knew it was just that. An act. Clint was a trained agent just like Nat. Nothing he did was unintentional. Clint had stayed on purpose. He probably just didn't want to admit it because then he'd be admitting how much he cared about Peter and how worried he actually was.

Bruce raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"What can I say? The squirt got to me with his bambi eyes." Clint admitted sheepishly.

"How's the squirt doing?" Bruce asked as he looked down at the sleeping teenager.

"He hasn't been up yet today, but according to Barton he seemed ok yesterday when he woke up. For over two whole hours. Which I wasn't informed about until this morning." Tony glared at Clint.

"You were asleep."

"You should've woken me up."

"He was fine."

"The deal was I would lie down as long as you woke me up if he woke up."

Clint rolled his eyes. "You needed the rest man. You were starting to look like an extra for The Walking Dead. And I would've woken you up if he actually needed you, but he was fine. We just watched a movie and then he passed out again."

"Yeah but see you don't get to decide when my kid does or doesn't need me." Tony disagreed.

He thought Clint was going to argue further but the man considered the words seriously for a moment before actually acquiescing. "Fair."

Tony blinked in surprise.

"You two done?" Bruce interjected.

Both men shrugged.

"Anyway I ran into John on the way here and he said Peter was going home tomorrow. So that's some good news."

"So he says." Tony said. He wasn't quite so sure. Peter didn't seem recovered enough to be released. Tony was in no hurry to rush him.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He has you to watch over him." Bruce smiled.

"Damn right." Tony crossed his arms and nodded.

Clint snorted.

"There's a small catch. I don't know if John told you…" Bruce tapered off because Tony knew it was obvious from his expression that he hadn't.

"Ok. Well um, since Peter still has a bit of healing left to do, he can be released but he has to be released into another physician's care. I told him I could do it, but if you'd rather find someone else, we can." Bruce offered.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I want you."

"Ok." Bruce flashed him a smile and peered back down at Peter, this time pulling back the sheet carefully and taking in the healing wounds.

Clint let out a low whistle when he saw the healing surgical incision and extensive bruising that covered Peter's chest and abdomen. "Ouch."

"Yeah ouch is right." Bruce agreed, side eyeing Clint briefly. "John cut back significantly on his painkillers today. We'll have to see how he does, but the fact that he's still sleeping is actually a good sign. It means the pain hasn't woken him up."

Tony nodded. That made sense. As much as he wanted his kid awake, he didn't want him waking up because he was in pain.

"I thought you had all kinds of alerts set up in his suit." Clint said suddenly to him, confusion coloring his features.

"I do."

"Then how did you not know about this until Cap sent out the call to assemble?" Clint motioned toward Peter.

Shock blasted him.

"I don't- I don't know. I should've been… I didn't think of that before. Why didn't I think of that before?" He said almost desperately. Had the suit malfunctioned? Peter hadn't just been bruised. He'd sustained life threatening injuries and Tony hadn't received so much as a text alert.

"It's all right man. You've got a lot on your plate." Clint placated.

"FRIDAY?" Tony addressed his AI. "Why wasn't I alerted to the fact that my kid was practically dying? Do I need to run diagnostics on the suit?"

"No boss." FRIDAY answered. "You weren't informed because you set your communication setting to 'do not disturb' before you went in to meet with the president. Under that setting only emergency Avengers business is routed through."

"And Peter's Spiderman, so I should've been alerted." Tony argued.

"Peter is not an Avenger." FRIDAY said logically and it was like a slap to the face.

"FRIDAY I don't care what you have to change, but from now on I always want to receive any communication from Peter, or related to Peter, including his suit emergency notifications, regardless of whatever communication setting I have set." Tony tried to stem the rising anger. He knew he shouldn't be mad at FRIDAY. It wasn't her fault, it was his. Another oversight. Another way he had let his kid down.

"Yes boss."

Tony sighed and ran a hand down his face, stress levels rocketing. "I can't believe I didn't already have it set that way. Jesus."

"Don't beat yourself up Tony. Peter's going to be fine." Bruce tried to reason as he finished looking Peter over.

The words helped but they didn't completely assuage the guilt.

"Yeah I'm sure the squirt will be up and driving you crazy in no time." Barton said.

That forced a small smile out of him.

"Clint's right. Knowing Peter, when we get home you'll be begging him to listen to you and rest." Bruce smiled in amusement at the thought.

"Banner's got you two pegged." Clint laughed.

"Ha ha." Tony deadpanned, but he knew Bruce was right. "Shut up Katniss."

Bruce smiled again and walked over to the couch to sit down next to Clint. He leaned back and groaned in contentment.

"You comfortable?" Clint razzed.

"Yeah." Bruce said as he sipped at his coffee.

"You staying?" Clint asked.

"For awhile. This couch is comfortable."

"Uh-huh."

"And I want to say hi to Peter when he wakes up." Bruce confessed.

"And there it is." Clint mocked.

"Hmm." Tony cocked his head to the side and made his deep in thought face. "Do you think my kid knows he has all of the Earth's mightiest heroes wrapped around his little finger?"

Bruce and Clint laughed.

"Speaking of the Earth's mightiest heroes, any word on when the rest of team will be back?" Bruce asked.

Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They have another session this afternoon but when I talked to Rhodey this morning he thought they'd be back by tomorrow."

"That's what Nat said too." Clint added.

"Any idea how it's going?" Bruce asked curiously.

"Eh." Tony shrugged. "From what I've heard, it could be better, but it could be worse."

"That sounds encouraging." Bruce said with uncharacteristic sarcasm.

"So we're not all on the brink of getting locked up again?" Clint clarified.

"As far as I know, no." Tony said with a wince. The Raft and post-Civil War time was still a touchy subject. They'd all moved on but that didn't mean they talked about it. They all usually avoided bringing it up at all cost.

"That's good at least." Clint offered and Tony let out a small breath of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. He hadn't expected that comment to pass without further aggression. Of all the Avengers, Clint had been the most vicious toward him after the whole Raft incident. In retrospect, now that he had a kid of his own, he couldn't really begrudge him for it. If Clint had been the reason he'd been locked up unable to see Peter, he would've been livid too.

"I get the sense that we've got a long few weeks ahead of us." Tony admitted.

They all nodded in agreement, resigned by that fact.

"I don't even care man." Clint broke the glum mood that had settled over them. "They can do whatever they want to us. I'm just glad the kid's ok."

"Agreed." Bruce nodded.

The edges of Tony's mouth quirked up into a smile. They'd all been through a lot, but Clint's adamant statement in Peter's defense along with Bruce's agreement proved that it wasn't wrong that in the deep recesses of his heart, he considered the Avengers his family.

* * *

Low voices woke him up.

If the light glaring against his eyelids was any indication, he was pretty sure it was a new day. He'd spent yesterday afternoon with Tony, Bruce, and Clint. He'd been hurting significantly more than the other times he'd been awake, but he'd tried his best to hide it because he hadn't wanted to give his dad any reason to worry more.

Later in the afternoon, Vision and Wanda had stopped by to check up on him and they'd played a competitive game of monopoly, which Tony had lost epically. Clint had loved it. Then for dinner, Scott and Sam had showed up with pizza for everyone from Peter's favorite pizza joint in the city. So by the end of the night, he'd been exhausted but bolstered by all the attention. He'd fallen asleep with seven Avengers hanging out in his room, but he'd assumed they'd all be gone by the next time he woke up. But maybe not.

As he focused on the conversation around him to figure out who was still around, he recognized his dad's voice. Of course he was still there.

"Well they aren't automatically putting through the changes Ross proposed, so that's something at least." Tony sighed.

"That's an uncharacteristically optimistic view from you." Peter recognized Rhodey's voice.

"No. Tony's right." Steve said. "We violated the current terms of the accords while we were on probation. They would've had every right to force those changes on us."

"I just love hearing you say that I'm right." His dad joked.

"Tony. Focus." Nat said dryly.

Peter kept his face slack and breathing even. He wanted to hear this and he knew if they thought he was awake, they'd stop talking about it.

"It looks like they're willing to play ball. That's all we can ask for right now." Rhodey added.

"When's the next session scheduled?" Tony asked.

"Monday, but we're not invited." Nat said.

"Since when has that stopped us?" Tony asked.

"I don't think we want to push them this time Tony." Rhodey sighed.

"Fair point."

"Most of the committee seemed sympathetic toward us and our position, which will help in our favor, but I think there are going to be a few hold outs." Nat offered.

"That was my read of it too." Steve agreed.

"Come on Cap, you couldn't turn them all in our favor? That's why we sent you. You obviously didn't kiss enough babies. You need to go back and do better." Peter had to bite the inside of his lip to keep from laughing at his dad's banter. He could just imagine the put upon look Steve probably had on his face.

"Hmm. Someone's playing possum." Nat stated with detached amusement. Whoops. Busted.

There was a long couple seconds of silence before his dad asked, "You awake kiddo?"

He figured it wasn't any use to continue the charade. He'd already blown it. He tried to act like he was just waking up, blinking slowly and yawning.

"What?" He asked sleepily.

His dad raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah nice try. How much did you hear?"

Obviously the innocent act hadn't worked.

"Hey it's not my fault. This is my room. You're the ones talking in here." He tried to defend himself.

Tony kept staring at him expectantly.

"Um I didn't really hear anything." He lied and put on his most confused face. "Just something about Steve kissing babies?"

"Uh-huh." Tony didn't seem like he believed him but he didn't push any further.

"Hey Peter." Steve smiled at him. "How are you doing?"

"Um not too bad." He struggled to sit up, not wanting to be flat on his back and seem weak in front of Avengers. He ignored the flare of pain through his body as he settled back against the pillows Tony had propped behind him.

"That's good to hear." Steve said as reached out to ruffle his hair. "You definitely look better than the last time I saw you."

"Yeah um thanks for saving me." He grinned, trying to keep the mood light but genuine.

"Don't mention it son. We're all just glad you're ok."

"Yeah Tony told us you're getting out of here today. You must be excited." Rhodey said with a smile and light pat on the shoulder.

"Can I leave now?" He turned eager eyes back on his dad.

"Not quite yet. Maybe after lunch."

"What time is it?"

"Eleven fifteen." Nat answered without even glancing at a watch.

"Why can't I just go now?" He frowned.

"Why are you in such a hurry _malen'kiy pauk_?" Natasha asked as she brushed a hand over his hair.

"I—" He started to tell her why but broke off when the sentence replayed in his head. "What did you call me?"

She gave him a sly smile but didn't answer.

"We'll get you out of here in a couple hours, all right?" Tony interjected.

He guessed that wasn't too bad. He'd get to leave soon.

"Fine." He sighed heavily.

"Good man." Steve nodded.

"Are you guys staying?" Peter asked.

The three of them shared glances.

"I mean you don't have to. I know you're probably tired or busy or whatever so if you'd rather—" He rambled.

"We'll stay and have an early lunch with you." Nat interrupted decisively, speaking for them. "How does that sound?"

"Great." Peter beamed.

"Steve and I will go grab something." Rhodey offered. "What sounds good kid?"

"Um…tacos?"

"Tacos it is." Rhodey said with a nod. "We'll be right back."

"Thanks." Tony said as they left.

"Yeah thank you!" Peter called out after them.

Tony sat back down in the chair next to his bed while Nat sat on the bed, reclining next to him.

"Clint told me there's a movie you want to watch with me later." She whispered teasingly into his ear.

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah."

"What movie?" Tony asked with a frown.

"Nothing." Peter said quickly.

Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously but didn't interrogate him further.

"Don't corrupt my kid Romanov." Tony warned.

"I'm pretty sure he's incorruptible." She said with a smirk and a ruffle of his hair.

"Hey! I'm corruptible. Just the other day Ned and I…" He stopped. On second thought he probably shouldn't tell them about that.

"Ned and you what?" Tony asked sharply.

"Nothing. Never mind. I'm an angel." He said with his biggest, most innocent smile.

Natasha snorted out a small laugh next to him.

Tony definitely didn't look like he believed him.

"Um who wants to watch TV?" He tried to change the subject.

"I do." Nat said and leaned over to grab the remote off the side table.

Tony gave in and slouched further in his chair with a sigh.

Peter threw a conspiratorial smile at Nat. He knew there was a reason she was one of his favorites.

* * *

Tony finished looking over the transcripts from the meetings Rhodey, Steve, and Nat had participated in with the Accords committee. It was as Steve had said. Not good, but not terrible. He set the Starkpad down on the coffee table before he sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. It was only 8:00PM but he was exhausted.

He felt like he'd been awake for days, and in a way, he kind of had been. He'd snuck in some catnaps while Peter had been in the Medbay at the compound, but it hadn't been much and none of the sleep he had gotten had been particularly restful. It was as if even while asleep, he was expending energy worrying about his kid.

He glanced to the right where Peter laid curled up on the couch, fast asleep. Surprisingly Peter had stayed awake almost all day. He'd made it through lunch, his last check by Dr. Murphy and Bruce, the ride back to the Tower on the Quinjet, which he'd absolutely loved, through dinner, and now halfway through some stupid vampire movie Nat and Clint had come to watch with him. Even though Peter was asleep, the two superspies didn't show any indication they were about to leave.

"Hey Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum, don't you have places you need to be? Besides here?" He asked pointedly.

"Nope." Clint answered as he crunched obnoxiously on popcorn.

"That wasn't a suggestion." Tony tried more sternly. "The kid's asleep."

"So?"

"So… you don't actually want to watch this crap do you?" He scoffed.

"Yeah Stark we do." Clint answered. "And if you tell anyone you're a dead man."

"Oh come on." Tony rolled his eyes. No way they actually liked this movie. They'd just been amusing Peter.

"Shh." Nat shushed him.

Tony frowned and tried to watch for a couple minutes, but it was a no go. The whole premise of the movie was terrible and the acting was laughable.

"Is this some secret superspy ploy to torture me for something? Because whatever I did, I'm sorry." Tony said with a grimace.

Clint rolled his eyes and threw some popcorn his direction. "Shh! It's almost to the best part."

Tony rolled his eyes. He'd have to take more drastic measures. He thumbed the power button on the remote and the TV screen flicked to black.

"Hey!"

"What the hell Stark?"

"I tried asking nicely." Tony shrugged.

"It wasn't that nice." Clint grumbled.

"It was for me." He smirked. "Now get out. I have to put my kid to bed."

"Need help?" Nat asked, glancing from Peter's sleeping form to Tony with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

"I'll have you know I'm stronger than I look."

"Nah the kid's just lighter than he looks." Clint said as he clapped his hands on his thighs and stood. "But those two extra casts on him might be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

"Or Ironman's." Nat chuckled as she gracefully stood and started walking out.

"Ha ha you two are so funny I can hardly handle it." Tony deadpanned as he watched them walk to the elevator.

"We'll see you tomorrow Tony. But seriously, if you need any help, give us a call." Nat gave him a small smile.

"Yeah. What she said." Clint agreed with a grin of his own and then they both ducked into the elevator and left. Finally. He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the couch and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he disliked Clint or Nat, quite the opposite in fact, but with all the Avengers in and out of Peter's room the past couple days, he felt like he'd barely had any time alone with his kid and it was taking its toll. On him and Peter.

He turned his head and looked over at Peter, still fast asleep, completely unaware of Clint and Nat's departure and the current stifling quiet of the room. Tony watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically. If he listened closely enough he could hear the small puffs of air escaping through his nose as he breathed. He was breathing. He was ok. Alive.

Ever since he'd received the call to assemble in DC and found out Peter was hurt, he'd felt like he was dangling precariously at the precipice of a mountain where the air was thin. It wasn't until now, with his kid back home and safe, that he felt like he'd made it back down and could finally breathe.

He didn't know how long he sat on the couch, tranquilly watching his healing son sleep, but it was long enough that his eyelids started to grow heavier. He should really get Peter to bed but the motivation to get up seemed to have left him.

He blinked awake with a start sometime later. Shit. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. He rubbed the fatigue out of his eyes so hard he saw stars. Peter was still obliviously in dreamland on the couch beside him. Tony briefly considered staying on the couch but dismissed the idea just as quickly. It couldn't be comfortable or good for Peter to sleep all night on the sofa when he was still recovering.

He levied himself up with a tired groan, his knees creaking. He didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to feel his age. A quick glance at his watch showed it was 11:15pm. He took a minute to stretch before taking the few steps to stand at his kid's side. He smiled at the sight of Peter, peaceful in sleep. As slowly and gently as possible, he rolled Peter onto his back and moved his arms so they rested crossed on his chest, the casted one on the bottom. Then he crouched down and got his arms behind Peter's back and knees. He lifted him in a single fluid motion, careful to make sure his kid's head fell against his chest instead of lolling backwards. He let out a stifled grunt. Clint was right. The casts did add extra weight, but not so much that he couldn't still carry his kid. He might end up giving himself a hernia or throwing his back out in the process but whatever… It was worth it.

Tony carried Peter out of the living room and down the hallway but when he got to his kid's door, he paused. He hadn't left Peter's side since he'd been hurt, and even though he knew his kid would be fine, he still didn't feel ready to let him out of his sight. Even though he knew he should.

He took a couple hesitant steps into Peter's room before stopping. Screw it. He turned around and walked through the hallway into his room instead. He gently placed Peter down on his bed and tucked him in, making sure to place pillows under his casted arm and leg. After he pulled the covers up to Peter's chest, he brushed his kid's hair back out of his face and kissed his forehead.

Once Peter was settled, he made his way to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, showered, and pulled on a pair of his most comfortable sleep pants and shirt. He was just about to climb into bed when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. It wasn't a number he recognized. Usually he'd let it go to voicemail, but with all the Accords drama going on he figured he should answer it in case it was a sympathetic senator.

"This is Stark." He answered, trying to keep his voice low to keep from waking Peter.

"Stark." The man on the other end said gleefully. "Didn't I tell you that you and your merry band of misfits wouldn't be able to follow the rules?"

"Are you just calling to annoy me Ross or does this conversation actually have some purpose?" Tony growled back as he quickly slipped out of his room and into the hallway so he wouldn't wake Peter up when he inevitably lost his temper.

"I wanted to know if you had seen reason yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, why don't you all just make this easier on yourselves and agree to my proposals? It'll save a lot of headaches since we all know that's where this is headed anyway."

"Oh I'm sorry. Are you getting that from your crystal ball? Because I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it's defective. There's no way we will _ever_ agree to your proposals."

"Never?" Ross sounded smug.

"Never." Tony reiterated slowly.

Ross chuckled and Tony wished he could reach through the phone and punch him in the face. "I hate to break it to you Stark, but there's no way the committee won't decide in my favor. Not after what you pulled."

"That's not what I heard." He knew he shouldn't give any extra information to Ross but he couldn't help himself.

"They're just humoring you."

"You're delusional." He snapped.

"I'm not. Don't you understand? While on probation you acted without the approval of the committee. You just couldn't help yourselves. It makes it so easy for me it almost takes the fun out of it." Tony could hear the delight in his voice.

"Are you done?" He tried to portray a bored tone. He hated that the man was voicing his exact fear and throwing it in his face.

"Oh I think I'm just getting started."

"Fuck off. And don't call me again unless it's to give your concession speech." Tony grit out and slammed his thumb down on the end call button. He glared at the phone in his hand as if it'd personally offended him. God he hated that man. He ran an aggravated hand through his hair before walking back to his bedroom, quietly opening and closing the door. When he laid eyes on Peter's sleeping form, all his anger and frustration instantly melted away.

He set his phone down on his nightstand with a sigh and crawled into bed, careful not to jostle Peter too much.

"Lights FRIDAY." He mumbled as his head settled on the pillow and the room subsequently sank into darkness.

"Silent mode FRIDAY." He ordered quietly. He didn't want some alert to wake Peter up.

A small low level beep sounded in acknowledgement. Tony let his eyes slip closed and despite the aggravating phone call from Ross, he drifted off surprisingly fast.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Merry Christmas! Also, I don't speak any Russian but google translate said malen 'kiy pauk = little spider. If that's not actually right, I apologize!


	19. Chapter 19

"Tony." The voice whispered his name, awakening him from a deep and dreamless sleep.

"Tony. Wake up." A hand gripped his shoulder and gave it a gentle shake.

His eyes flickered open. A shadow loomed over him, illuminated by the hallway light spilling in from his open bedroom door. He sat up like a shot with a sharp inhale.

"Shh. It's just me." He instantly recognized Pepper's voice.

"Jesus. You scared me." He clutched a hand against his chest as if it could help calm the racing of his heart.

"Sorry." Pepper whispered and gave him a wry smile.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to will himself more awake. Exhaustion still tugged heavily at him.

"What time is it?" He rasped.

"Six."

"In the morning?"

"Yes in the morning." He caught Pepper's eye roll.

"Whatever it is couldn't wait a few more hours?" He whined.

"No." Pepper answered then seemed a little more chagrined as she eyed the exhaustion on his features. "I need your signature on some paperwork before the shareholder's meeting at seven. Sorry. I know now's not the best time."

She glanced over to the other side of his bed and Tony followed her gaze. Peter lay on his right side, facing Tony, fast asleep drooling on his pillow with his legs tangled in the sheets.

"It's fine." He said as he readjusted the sheets over Peter and then crawled carefully out of bed. "Let's go in the living room. I don't want to wake him up."

Pepper nodded and Tony followed her out, shutting the door softly behind them.

"How's he doing?" Pepper asked as Tony practically sprinted to the coffeemaker.

"He'll be ok." He mumbled as he grabbed the grounds out of the freezer.

He set a filter in the coffeemaker's cache before pouring a generous amount of grounds into it. Pepper watched in silence as he filled the coffee pot with water and poured it into the reservoir at the back.

"What about you?" Pepper asked. "How are you holding up?"

The question irritated him. Usually it wouldn't, but the recent stress and fatigue had frayed his already shortened temper.

"What do you want me to say Pep? That I'm fine?" He snapped and roughly shoved the pot back into its spot in the coffeemaker and pushed brew. "My kid got the living shit beat out of him by some enhanced robot while I wasn't even in the same state. How do you think I'm doing?"

He leaned forward with his hands against the counter edge and closed his eyes, trying to get a handle on his emotions. He knew he wasn't being fair to Pepper. She wasn't the one he was angry with.

"I'm sorry." He apologized after a tense few seconds of silence.

"It's ok." Pepper said hesitantly and settled a comforting hand on his back. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No." He sighed then turned around to face her and give her a wan smile. "But thank you."

"Don't thank me." She smiled back. "I'm the one that woke you up at the crack of dawn to sign paperwork when I'm guessing you've barely slept in the past few days."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You guess right, as usual." He smirked.

Pepper hummed in agreement as she presented the paperwork he needed to sign.

"I don't actually need to read this do I?" He joked.

"Do you ever?"

"You know me so well." He gave the pages a cursory glance before signing his name with little flourish at the end.

"There." He capped the pen and handed the paperwork back to her.

"Thank you." She said as she took it.

Tony gave her a nod and turned back to the coffeepot. Enough had brewed for him to pour his first cup. He had a feeling he was going to need several to get through the day. He'd just finished pouring the steaming liquid into his mug when Pepper grabbed it.

"You want some?" He asked in amusement at the theft. It quickly turned to surprise when instead of drinking it, she dumped the contents of the mug down the sink.

"That's coffee blasphemy." He accused.

"You need sleep." She explained as she set the empty mug down by the sink. She grabbed his arm and started leading him out of the kitchen. "Come on. Back to bed."

"But I'm up now." He protested half-heartedly. The truth was he still felt terrible and more sleep sounded great.

"And in a minute you'll be back in bed." Pepper reasoned. "Besides, hasn't anyone ever told you you're supposed to sleep when the baby sleeps?"

He snorted softly as Pepper turned the doorknob to his bedroom and silently opened the door and ushered him in.

"He's not a baby." He whispered in argument. "Although these past few days he's slept as much as one."

Pepper frowned in worry. "They didn't release him too soon, did they?"

"No. He's on the mend. Pretty soon he'll be driving me crazy trying to be up and moving around again. He hates sitting still." Tony reassured her as he crawled back into bed.

"Hmm. Sounds like another Stark I know." Pepper smiled and Tony huffed a quiet chuckle. It was true, but it didn't mean he had to like it when Peter emulated some of his less desirable personality traits.

"Actually, that reminds me…" Pepper trailed off with an odd look on her face.

"What?" He asked, curious.

"Did Peter ever mention anything to you about changing his name?"

"What? No." He said in shock, accidentally forgetting to whisper. He glanced over at Peter. He slept on, undisturbed by the noise.

"Why?" Tony whispered as he turned back to Pepper. "Did he say something to you about it?"

"Sort of." Pepper frowned.

"When was this?"

"Not recently. Awhile ago actually." Pepper paused as she tried to remember when the conversation had occurred. "The night I first met him. He really never mentioned anything?"

"No." Tony would've remembered if Peter had even alluded to something as significant as changing his name. "What did he say to you?"

"I don't remember exactly. I think I might've been the one that brought it up." Pepper said, brow furrowing. "Oh! I remember now. I asked him if he was going to change his name since he was going to inherit Stark Industries. He seemed surprised when I mentioned it."

Tony blinked. He'd never discussed the fact that Peter was set to inherit SI. He hadn't been purposefully avoiding it. It'd just slipped his mind to tell Peter, and honestly he'd figured it was obvious. But maybe not.

He sighed and laid down against his pillow. "Thanks for telling me. I'll talk to him about it."

Pepper gave him another soft smile as he yawned. She turned to leave. He knew he should let her go, but a question nagged in the back of his mind and he knew he'd get no rest until he had the answer.

"When you asked him if he was going to change his name, um, what did he say?" Tony asked after her.

Pepper paused at the door and turned back. "He said he didn't know. He was going to think about it."

Well, it wasn't a yes. But it wasn't a no. Tony hadn't even considered the possibility before now. Peter Stark. It had a nice ring to it. But Tony wouldn't pressure Peter into anything. The kid was his son with or without his last name.

"Get some sleep Tony." Pepper said softly. "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Pep." He mumbled. His eyes slipped closed and he let sleep take him again.

* * *

Peter awoke warm and strangely comfortable. He floated in that not completely asleep but not quite awake state. He knew he had it to thank for his lack of pain. Once he was awake, the constant aches plaguing him would be back. He tried to enjoy the pain free existence for as long as he could, but eventually the real world dragged him back.

His side throbbed painfully. He squirmed to try to find some relief but he ended up jostling his casted leg instead. It gave a sharp twinge and he couldn't keep a small whimper from escaping past his lips. He tried to grab back onto that blissful half asleep place where everything was dulled, but the pain kept pulling him back. He groaned softly in frustration.

A hand settled gently on his head and fingers started running lightly through his loose tangled curls. His dad was here. He'd assumed he was alone, but he also wasn't quite sure where he was. The last thing he remembered was watching a movie on the couch with Tony, Nat, and Clint, but he was definitely in a delectably soft and warm bed now. He leaned into Tony's hand and gave a little grunt when even that small movement hurt. The fingers paused in their ministrations.

"You awake kiddo?" Tony asked softly.

He hummed in response and nudged his head into his dad's hand again. He didn't want him to stop. It was the only thing distracting him from the throbbing in his body.

Tony made a soft noise of amusement but the fingers went back to running through his hair.

"All right you get ten more minutes of this but then you need to eat something since we both slept through breakfast."

He wondered what time it was but he didn't have the energy to ask.

After a few minutes of consciousness, he became accustomed to the level of pain plaguing him again so it was almost tolerable. The main thing he hated about being hurt was how still he had to stay to keep from hurting more when all he wanted was to be moving.

He tried to carefully shift his weight more onto his right side but he aborted the motion with a wince when white hot agony shot through his abdomen and left side. He took a few short breaths and resigned himself to being stuck flat on his back for now. When he was able to be aware of anything else except the pain he realized Tony had stopped playing with his hair again.

He cracked his eyes open and saw he was in his dad's dark bedroom. Tony sat next to him in bed propped up against some pillows with a Starkpad in his lap. His attention wasn't focused on it at the moment, though. Instead, he was scrutinizing Peter with a concerned frown.

Peter met his eyes and the man must've decided he saw something he didn't like because in the next second he placed his Starkpad on the nightstand and got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked, his voice croaking from not being used. He didn't want to be left alone.

"I'm getting your pain meds. I'll be right back." Tony answered and disappeared out the door.

Peter closed his eyes in resignation. Truthfully, he could use something to take the edge off because he kind of had to pee and he really didn't even want to start thinking about how much it would hurt to try to do that right now.

"Come on buddy. I'm going to help you sit up." Tony's voice came from right beside him what seemed like only a second later.

He groaned in protest. He didn't want to move at all right now but Tony didn't give him a choice. He was already snaking a hand behind his upper back and lifting him up before he even had a chance to open his eyes. At least it hurt a little less when Tony did the moving. His dad settled him back against a pile of pillows and it took Peter a few long seconds to get used to the change in altitude. His head spun slightly and everything ached. He finally managed to blink up at his dad who stood next to him holding a glass of water and his pain pills.

"Here." Tony handed him the pills and he took them all. His dad looked even more worried when he didn't even voice a token protest. He took the water and swallowed a few small sips to wash the chalkiness of the pills down.

"Thanks." He mumbled and handed the glass back. Tony took it and set it on the nightstand nearby but continued to stare at him. He wondered how bad he had to look for Tony to have that expression on his face. Peter could see the wheels turning as his dad looked him over. Peter hoped he wasn't wondering if he had to get Bruce to come up here, or worse, if he needed to send Peter back to the compound's Medbay. Really, he just needed a few minutes for the pills to kick in and he'd probably look better.

"I'm fine." He tried to reassure him.

Tony hummed in disbelief but didn't argue. Instead, he leaned forward to brush the hair back off his forehead and drop a kiss there.

When he straightened back up, Peter gave him a tired smile. Tony looked down at him, his hand still resting on the top of Peter's head as he gently rubbed his thumb over his forehead as if wiping away evidence of the kiss he'd just placed there.

"I'm ok dad. Really." He tried to inject more sincerity into the statement. He didn't like to see Tony worried about him.

Tony sighed heavily and his hand dropped from Peter's head. "All right."

Peter could tell he still didn't believe him.

"I'm going to run and grab some lunch for us. Don't move. I'll be right back." Tony pointed a finger at him to emphasize the command. "I mean it. Stay put. If you need anything have FRIDAY get me. Ok?"

Peter nodded. He didn't think he could move now even if he wanted to. Well, maybe. If his life depended on it. But it wouldn't be pleasant.

Tony stared at him for a few more seconds as if trying to decide if he was actually going to listen and it was safe to leave him.

"I'll be good." Peter smiled again. "I promise."

"You better." Tony smiled back. "Any more stress and you're going to make me go prematurely grey."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Rhodey already told me you've been dyeing your hair since your thirtieth birthday."

He let out a surprised laugh when Tony's jaw dropped.

"When did he tell you _that_?" Tony asked, not denying it.

"I don't know. A couple months ago?"

"Wow. You've been holding onto that one for awhile." Tony quirked an eyebrow at him and ruffled his hair. "You know, you shouldn't believe everything Rhodey tells you. Especially if it's about me."

"I saw the hair dye under your sink." Peter deadpanned.

"I keep that there just in case."

"Then why's it almost empty?"

"I spilled it." Tony lied badly then scoffed. "Fine. You know what, just keep that little nugget to yourself. And by the way I don't actually need it, I'm just taking preventative measures."

"Uh huh." Peter said sarcastically with a grin.

"All right. Zip it skippy. Haven't you ever heard the expression don't bite the hand that feeds you? Keep it up and I'll make you choke down brussel sprouts for lunch." Tony fake threatened. They both knew he'd bring Peter whatever he wanted to eat right now.

"Joke's on you." Peter bantered back. "I love brussel sprouts."

He didn't.

"No you don't." Tony stated confidently.

"Yes I do." He lied.

"Ok. Brussel sprouts for lunch it is then." Tony clapped his hands together and started walking away.

"Wait." Peter called out right before he walked out the door. Tony paused and turned to look at him with a knowing smile.

"Yes?" The man prompted.

"Um can we do something else instead? Like mac and cheese?"

"Is that what you want? Mac and cheese?" Tony asked, teasing tone gone.

Peter nodded.

"Your wish is my command." Tony smirked. "I'll be right back."

His dad disappeared out the door.

With the back and forth banter no longer occupying him, the throbbing of his injuries returned. Peter closed his eyes, not even trying to stifle a pained groan now that no one was around to hear it. He tried his best to try to focus on something else.

"Would you like me to turn the TV on Peter?" FRIDAY offered suddenly.

That was actually a good idea. Maybe it would be enough to distract him until the pain meds started working.

"Yeah thanks FRIDAY. Can you put on something funny?"

"Of course Peter." FRIDAY answered and a few moments later the large TV started playing a British movie he'd never heard of. Death at a Funeral. It did the job. Ten minutes in and he was hooked and suitably distracted. Maybe he should let FRIDAY pick movies more often.

* * *

"Dad?" Peter called.

His pain medication had finally kicked in, and after breakfast in bed, Tony had let him move back to the couch in the living room. At the moment, he couldn't see Tony from his vertical position on the couch, but he could hear him bustling around nearby in the kitchen.

"Yeah bud?" Tony responded.

"Do you have my phone?" His phone's location had been nagging at him since he'd woken up. He really needed to text Ned.

"No, I don't." Tony answered as he came back carrying a mug of steaming hot coffee.

"Really?" Peter asked in surprise. He figured his dad was being all overprotective and holding onto it for him.

"Did you lose it?" Tony asked as he sat down in the plush armchair next to Peter. Peter was a little disappointed he didn't plop down on the couch with him, but he knew he was taking up quite a bit of space and his dad was probably overly worried about jostling him or some other nonsense.

"No I'm asking you if you have it for fun."

"Oh there's some of that Parker snark. You must be feeling better." Tony smirked.

Peter rolled his eyes. In his head he couldn't help but think it probably would've been more appropriate to call it Stark snark since he was pretty sure he'd picked it up from Tony, not his parents or Ben or May. But he didn't say any of that out loud.

"Do you remember when you had it last?" Tony asked after he took a sip of coffee.

"At school." Peter frowned.

Tony winced. "If you left it in your locker we're probably going to have to get you a new one. I think Vision did a number on that hallway."

"I left it in my backpack." Peter sighed.

"Don't worry kiddo. I'll set you up with the newest Starkphone model." Tony tried to cheer him up, but Peter was still bummed. He had a ton of pictures and everyone's contact info in his old phone.

Peter chewed on his lip and glanced back at the TV. A few seconds later the memory of handing his backpack to Ned popped into his mind.

"Wait. I gave my backpack to Ned!" He sat up in excitement, forgetting about his injuries in the moment. That didn't last long. He sucked in a breath as sharp pain assaulted him and he flopped back down with a groan.

"You ok kiddo?" Tony asked.

"I'm fine." He grit out, eyes still scrunched closed.

"Yeah you really look it." His dad said sarcastically. Yep. He definitely got the snark thing from Tony.

Peter heard Tony set his mug down on the coffee table and walk over to his side.

He tried to force the pain down to open his eyes so he could give his dad a scathing look. Even though Tony had sounded insensitive, Peter knew the man was just worried and obviously frustrated that he kept saying he was fine even when he clearly wasn't.

"Anything I can do?" Tony asked, tone gentle this time, as he crouched on the small space available on the edge of the couch.

"No it's getting better." Peter relaxed as the pain started to lessen. "I just moved too fast."

Tony studied him for a few more seconds before reaching out to push his hair back and inadvertently wipe away the new sheen of sweat on his brow.

"I know you've got this incredible healing factor and you're not used to being laid up like this, and believe me I'm more than thankful for that, but you need to take it easy." Tony said. "If not for your sake, then for mine. I know I don't look it, but I'm old, you know."

Peter scoffed.

"Until you're on the up and up how about you pretend like you're that turtle in that rabbit turtle analogy story thing? Only slow movements."

Tony butchering the classic tortoise and hare children's tale brought a smile to his face.

"Yeah?" Tony smiled back. "Sound good?"

"I'm Spiderman. Even my slow moves are fast." Peter teased.

"Whatever you say kiddo." Tony ruffled his hair and then stood and went back to his armchair, seemingly satisfied that he was better.

Peter's thoughts went back to what they'd been talking about before he'd sat up too fast. He'd given his backpack to Ned and his phone had been in his backpack, so his guy in the chair had all his stuff. He just needed to figure out a way to get ahold of Ned. Wait. He knew Ned's number by heart, one of the few numbers he'd actually memorized.

"Hey dad?" Peter tried to get Tony's attention again. He'd started reading something intently on his Starkpad. Peter was pretty sure it had to do with the Accords fallout drama that he wasn't allowed to know anything about.

"Hm?" Tony acknowledged him but didn't look up.

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Why?" Tony asked suspiciously.

"Were you not listening at _all_?" Peter asked in exasperation.

"Snark and teenage angst all in one day. Lucky me." Tony muttered jokingly to himself then raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ned has my backpack." He said.

"I know you're a good student kid but let's cool it on the homework for now."

"I don't want it for my homework. I want my phone. I put it in my backpack and then I gave my backpack to Ned before I went out as Spiderman." Peter explained slowly. "Can I call Ned so he can bring it over?"

Tony peered at him from over the top of the Starkpad. "I don't think you're quite up for company yet."

Peter's face twisted. "What do you call Clint, and Nat, and Steve, and Bruce, and Rhodey and like everyone else that's been visiting me the past couple days?"

"Family." Tony said succinctly.

Peter blinked, slightly blindsided by the honest and uncharacteristically touchy feely response.

"Well yeah sure, but it's Ned. He's…practically family." Peter stammered out in argument. He knew it was kind of a reach.

Tony shot him a skeptical look.

"Come on. Please dad. I need my phone."

"I can get you a new phone."

"But I want _that_ phone."

Tony stared at him for a few long seconds and Peter couldn't get a read on his expression. Then he pursed his lips and Peter was sure he was about to reiterate his previous no. But instead, he reached into his pocket to grab his phone. He unlocked the screen and lightly tossed it over to Peter.

"Fine. Ted can come over but not until tomorrow afternoon. And _not_ for very long."

"We both know you know his name is Ned." Peter said after he deftly snatched the phone out of the air. Part of him wanted to push it and see if he could get Tony to let Ned come over right away, but he had a feeling that with how tightly strung Tony seemed at the moment any further bargaining would just end up with him losing Ned's visit altogether.

Peter's mouth tugged into a smile when he saw the photo that served as his dad's home screen background. It was from when they'd been messing around taking selfies on the couch together awhile back. Peter didn't remember this particular photo, but he liked it. He was smiling goofily at the camera, his head resting on his dad's shoulder. Instead of smiling back at the camera, Tony was looking down at him with his own soft smile, eyes crinkled in amusement and fondness. Peter could see the obvious love in his dad's eyes. It was a nice picture.

"I like your background picture." Peter said.

Tony glanced at him and Peter could tell he was trying to decide if he meant it honestly or sarcastically.

"You're such a softie." He added with a smirk and thumbed the message screen.

"Only sometimes." Tony joked instead of denying it. "Don't go spreading it around."

"Don't worry. No one would believe me." Peter quipped.

"Smartass." Tony grumbled.

"Language." Peter mumbled distractedly as he finished typing in Ned's number. As soon as he finished, the name Ned Leeds popped up in the message line. He frowned.

"Why do you have Ned's number in your phone?"

"I have the names and numbers of any and all your associates." Tony

"That's a little creepy and borderline stalkerish of you."

Tony gave him another little hum but didn't respond as he typed something into his Starkpad. He was clearly only half listening.

"And when you say all my associates you mean just Ned right?" He prodded. He couldn't think of anyone else.

"Sure." Tony answered with a mumble.

Peter figured it would be pointless to try to figure out what other numbers Tony had, if any. Not that it really mattered.

"Does Ned know you have his number?"

Tony shot him an incredulous look.

"So no." Peter said to himself with a small laugh. "Wow this is going to make his day."

"On second thought maybe Ned should wait until Saturday or Sunday."

"No dad. I'm kidding. I'm kidding." He backpedaled. "I won't tell him."

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought."

Peter finished typing out the message to his friend and hit send.

 _Hey Ned this is Peter. Do you still have my backpack? I think I left my phone in it. Any chance you could bring it by tomorrow?_

Ned responded instantly. _Oh my god Peter are you ok? I saw some clips on the news and it looked really bad!_

Peter frowned. He hadn't seen anything about his fight on the news. Actually, now that he thought about it, his dad hadn't put any network channels on since he'd gotten home, which was a little atypical.

 _I'm ok. Just need a little more time to heal up and I'll be as good as new._ He replied.

 _Thank god. Can I really come over tomorrow?_ Peter could sense Ned's eagerness through the phone's screen.

 _Yeah Tony says it's ok if you stop by in the afternoon._

 _Awesome! I can't wait to see you dude. I was really worried._

Peter texted him the blushing happy face emoji.

 _Just to warn you…I don't know how he'll let you stay. He's been in fine form with all the overprotectiveness._ He added.

 _How hurt are you exactly?_ Ned asked.

Peter sent the shrug emoji back, expertly avoiding the question.

 _Peter._

 _I'm fine. I got released from the Medbay yesterday._ Peter tried to reassure his friend.

 _You've been in the hospital since Friday?_

 _Not the hospital. Medbay. At the compound._

 _Holy shit. Are you sure I should come over?_

 _Yeah I'm sure. It's fine._

 _I guess it's a good thing they gave us an early Thanksgiving break. Otherwise you would've missed like a ton of school._

 _Is that what they did? An early break? No one's told me anything._

 _Yeah dude. We get an extra couple weeks off. This week, Thanksgiving week, and the week after._

That's right. Thanksgiving was one week from today. At least he thought it was.

 _That's good I guess._ He texted. It'd worked out suspiciously well for him. He wondered if the Avengers had damaged his school on purpose. Nah, that was crazy.

 _Yeah but they're giving us some kind of homework packet we're supposed to complete and they might be shortening Christmas break._ Ned added.

 _That's not as good._ He joked.

 _Yeah. But I got the packet today and it doesn't look too bad._

 _Did they mail it to you?_ He wondered where his packet was.

 _No. They have them at the office at school. My mom picked it up for me. Do you want me to swing by and pick yours up tomorrow?_

 _Could you? I'd owe you one._

 _Sure._

 _Thanks Ned._

 _It's no problem. Should I text you back at this number when I'm on my way over tomorrow._

 _Yeah I guess that works. I'll just tell dad you're going to text him._

 _OH MY GOD PETER. Are you for real right now?! This is TONY STARK'S phone number? I'm actually texting Tony Stark?_

Peter sent Ned the eye rolling emoji. _No you're texting me on his phone. Be cool._

 _Sorry. Sometimes it's just so cool being your friend._

Peter snorted aloud at that and Tony glanced his way.

 _Just keep the phone number thing on the DL. I think he might actually kill you if it leaked and you were the reason he had to change his number._

 _Of course. Don't worry. I'll put it under a secret name in my phone. Like Anthony S._

Peter snorted again. _Yeah that's subtle and not completely obvious._

 _Shut up. I'll think of something._

"What's so funny kid?" Tony asked.

"Ned." He answered without elaborating.

 _Ok. Text when you're on your way over tomorrow._ Peter typed.

 _Ok I will._

 _See you then._

Ned sent him the thumbs up emoji back in response.

"He's excited to have your phone number." Peter smirked at his dad who was still watching him curiously.

Tony sighed in exasperation. "If your little friend starts texting me every day he and I are going to have to have words."

"He won't text you." Peter said confidently.

Tony nodded and held his hand out for his phone.

Peter tossed it back reluctantly. He'd kind of wanted to snoop.

"Um except tomorrow. I told him to text when he was on his way over."

Tony shot him a slightly put upon expression but didn't complain. He pocketed his phone again and went back to studying something on his Starkpad.

Peter yawned as he watched him for a couple minutes before switching his attention back to the TV. He checked to make sure Tony wasn't paying attention before he grabbed the remote and switched the channel to CNN.

He was sort of surprised that six days later, the robot attack was still headline news. But he figured he probably shouldn't be, considering the fallout.

 _"—there still hasn't been a statement issued from either the Avengers or the UN. We know several meetings took place this week but don't yet know the details about what was discussed or if any decisions have been made. Through it all Tony Stark has been notably absent leading to speculation that—"_

"FRIDAY TV off." Tony ordered and the screen flashed to black.

"Hey." Peter protested. "I was watching that."

"It's a bunch of drivel." Tony said derisively.

"I want to know what they're saying."

"Nothing important."

Peter shot him a disbelieving look.

"It'll all blow over soon anyway." Tony added.

Somehow Peter doubted it.

"Are you going to have to go to DC?"

"Not today." Tony answered cryptically.

"Well obviously. What about next week?"

"We'll see."

"You never tell me anything." Peter complained.

"Because you don't need to worry about it. Like I said before, the grown ups are handling it."

"But you'll tell me if you have to leave?"

Tony frowned at him. "Of course."

Peter stared at Tony. It didn't seem like he was lying. He yawned, eyelids suddenly feeling heavy.

"Promise?" He asked and he knew it came out childish sounding but he didn't care.

"I promise kiddo." Tony said sincerely with a warm smile.

"Can we put Star Wars on?" He asked even as his eyes closed.

"Sure. Whatever you want buddy." Tony said, voice going quieter.

The characteristic opening Star Wars song started playing a few seconds later. Peter listened to the movie with his eyes closed, staying awake just long enough to recognize his dad had put on A New Hope, before he fell asleep again.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me and waiting so patiently for updates and leaving such amazing comments! As always, let me know your thoughts on this chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

"Your friend's here." Tony announced as he walked into the living room, Ned trailing behind him.

It was an unnecessary statement since Tony and Peter had both been in the living room when FRIDAY had alerted them that Ned had arrived and was ascending in the elevator, but Peter hadn't been able to get up to greet him by the door. He'd been willing to try but Tony had nixed that idea right away.

"Hey Ned." Peter smiled at his friend.

"Hey Pe—" Ned's eyes widened when he saw him. "Wow. You look terrible. Are you sure I should be here?"

Ned glanced back at Tony, who the question seemed to be aimed at.

"I'm fine." Peter answered with a roll of his eyes at the same time Tony said, "You have ten minutes kid."

Ned nodded and turned back to him, expression solemn.

"Ten minutes? You're kidding right?" Peter asked as his dad sat back down in the armchair next to the couch.

Tony raised his eyebrows. He didn't seem like he was joking.

"Seriously? Dad come on." Peter huffed. Peter nearly missed the slight surprise that crossed Ned's face when he heard Peter call Tony dad.

"Ok." Tony clasped his hands together. "Five minutes."

"Dad!" Peter protested then told Ned, "Don't worry. He's kidding."

"Am I?" Tony asked lightly as he leaned back in the chair and tapped at something on his phone.

"Ned came all the way here. He can stay for more than ten minutes." Peter argued, glaring at Tony.

"Really Peter it's fine. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were doing okay." Ned said. "And honestly you kind of look like maybe I shouldn't stay all that long?"

"Smart kid." Tony mumbled, only half paying attention.

Peter turned his glare on his friend. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours."

"I'm fine."

"I think we've gone over this before, but you do know that just saying that doesn't actually make it true?" Ned asked.

Tony snorted.

"Just…sit down." Peter sighed and sat up to make room for his friend at the end of the couch. It wasn't the easiest thing to do with two casts, broken ribs, and fresh surgical wounds. He winced and let out a small grunt of pain at the movement.

"Are you ok?" Ned asked with worry, reaching out but clearly unsure how to help him adjust to get more comfortable.

"Yeah it's fine." Peter waved him off, noticing he had his dad's full attention now as well. "I'm fine. Really."

"If you're sure." Ned frowned and Tony continued to observe him carefully.

Peter nodded and gestured toward the open end of the couch with his uncasted arm. "I am. Sit. Tell me what's been going on with you."

Ned stared at him for a couple more seconds before acquiescing with a sigh. Instead of dropping down roughly onto the cushion like he usually would, he carefully sat so as not to jostle Peter. As soon as he was settled, Ned launched into telling him everything he'd been up to since he'd last seen Peter. The video games and movies definitely sounded a lot more fun than the painful convalescing Peter had been doing.

Peter did his best to listen and ask questions here and there, but after awhile he found his energy flagging. Had Ned always had this much pep? Sitting up for so long was starting to put uncomfortable pressure on his chest and abdomen too. He subtlety leaned sideways so his side and head rested against the couch's soft back cushion.

"Oh before I forget, I have your phone." Ned said suddenly, reaching into his sweatshirt pocket and pulling it out. Ned craned towards Peter to hand it to him, so he didn't have to move to retrieve it.

"Thanks man." He smiled as he took it. The screen was blank. The battery was obviously dead after not being charged for over a week. He set it on the coffee table.

"Did you bring my backpack too?" Peter asked with a frown. He didn't see it anywhere.

"Yeah I left it by the door." Ned answered.

"Thanks. Is the make up homework in there?"

"Actually when I stopped by school they said they didn't have yours. They told me someone must have already picked it up." Ned shrugged. "Sorry."

"What? But I didn't pick anything up. Obviously."

"I have it kid. I had it delivered." Tony interrupted them. The first he'd spoken in the past twenty minutes. He'd been working intently on something on his Starkpad or maybe pretending to work on something to give them the illusion of privacy. Either way, Peter was glad he hadn't made good on the threat to kick Ned out after a measly ten minutes. But now he was kind of wishing his dad would notice how tired he was and do his dirty work for him.

"Oh. Where is it?" He glanced at Tony and noticed the man had a pinched look on his face. The one he got when he was worried but trying to hide it.

"I'm holding onto it until you feel up to working on it."

"I could work on it now." The suggestion probably wasn't too convincing because he ended it with a wide yawn.

"Maybe next week."

"But I could start to chip away at it."

"I looked through it kid. Trust me, it'll take you all of a day to finish. Don't worry about it."

"Mr. Stark's right." Ned nodded. "I haven't even started on mine yet. I'll probably end up doing it the day before we have to go back."

Yeah right. He knew Ned was lying to make him feel better. Between the two of them, Ned definitely wasn't the procrastinator. Peter couldn't even remember the amount of times he'd been up all night last year after going out as Spiderman because he'd completely forgotten about some paper or assignment due the next day while Ned always had his done the week before.

"Or I could do it tomorrow and then give you the answers so you don't have to worry about it at all." Ned offered.

Instead of commenting on the offer to cheat, Peter caught Tony smirking.

"I'm sure I'll get it done." Peter said, eyes drooping. "But just in case, that can be plan B."

Ned nodded and Peter noticed the worry he tried to hide flash across his face.

"I have an idea. Now that you're finished catching up, why don't the two of you pick a movie and settle in and I'll make us some hot chocolate." Tony suggested as he put his Starkpad down and stood.

"That sounds great." Ned said overly brightly and Peter's brow furrowed when he noticed the eye contact between Ned and Tony lasting longer than normal, as if they were having some secret nonverbal conversation.

Peter didn't call them out on it, but instead interrupted to ask, "Hey dad can you plug my phone in for me? I think I saw a charger in the kitchen."

"Sure thing kid." Tony answered as he grabbed it on his way out of the room.

He noticed Ned watching him closely after Tony disappeared into the kitchen.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." Ned denied, voice going a little high like it did whenever he lied. "What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care. You pick." He said shortly. His usual patience was worn down from the ratcheting ache in his body. Honestly he kind of just wanted to be flat again but he didn't want to ask Ned to move. That'd be rude and he wasn't _that_ uncomfortable yet. He could tough it out.

"Have you seen the new Mission Impossible movie yet?" Ned asked with his typical Ned excitement. "It came out this summer. I heard it was good."

Peter shook his head.

"Let's watch it."

"Ok." Peter agreed. "FRIDAY, can you play the new Mission Impossible movie?"

"Yes Peter." She answered. "Playing Mission Impossible: Fallout."

The movie immediately started to play on the previously blank 100 inch TV mounted on the wall across from the couch.

"Thanks FRIDAY." Peter said as he straightened up again and turned his head to watch.

"So cool." Ned muttered. Ned still wasn't over his love affair with Tony's technology. Peter wasn't really either, but he'd grown accustomed to it after living constantly surrounded by it.

Five minutes in, Peter shifted uncomfortably but tried not to be obvious about it. He wanted to go back to leaning against the back of the couch but then he wouldn't be able to watch the movie. Not that he was that interested in it anyway, but he didn't want to disappoint Ned.

"You ok?" Ned asked, noticing his restlessness.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to grab you another pillow or something?" Ned asked, trying to be helpful.

"No it's fine." He lied and tried to keep the discomfort he was feeling off his face.

"All right kids, I made us the good stuff." Tony announced as he walked in holding a tray of three mugs and a bag of marshmallows. He placed it on the coffee table before glancing over at Peter and Ned again.

"Hey Ned why don't you take the other couch?" Tony suggested. "More room to stretch out and get comfortable there."

"Oh yeah sure. Thanks Mr. Stark." Ned said as he got up and Tony handed him a mug of hot chocolate.

"Marshmallows?" Tony asked, offering the bag.

Ned nodded. "Thanks."

Peter watched as his friend dumped an enormous amount of mini marshmallows into his mug.

"You want some hot chocolate with those marshmallows kid?" Tony teased when Ned handed the bag back once he was done. His friend's cheeks pinked slightly.

"Ned really likes marshmallows." Peter said with a grin as his friend walked over to the other couch.

"I can see that." Tony said then added a healthy amount to his and Peter's mugs but not even close to as many as Ned's. Tony didn't have to ask if he wanted any marshmallows. He knew exactly how Peter liked his hot chocolate.

He handed Peter his mug and then dug out the bottle of Peter's pain pills from his pants pocket. He twisted the cap off and handed him two pills. Peter threw them back without argument, hoping it'd help take the edge off. As he took a sip of hot chocolate to wash them down, Tony recapped the bottle and put it back in his pocket. Then his dad grabbed his own mug off the coffee table and sat down in the spot Ned had just vacated at the end of the couch.

"Mission Impossible." Tony commented as he took a sip of his drink and focused on the TV. "Good pick. I haven't seen it yet."

"We haven't seen it either. Ned picked it." Peter took a drink of his hot chocolate. It tasted terrific and it was the perfect temperature like always. Peter wondered if FRIDAY had a hand in that or if making the perfect mug of hot chocolate was something Tony was naturally good at. Like all his innumerable other strengths. Tony Stark. Billionaire, inventor, genius, superhero, philanthropist, expert hot chocolate maker.

The corners of his lips twitched up at the thought.

"Good?" Tony asked.

"Mmhmm." Peter said and took another sip.

Tony nodded in satisfaction and went back to watching the movie.

Peter took his time drinking it, enjoying the sugary perfection and the warmth of the hot chocolate, which seemed to seep into his bones and chase away the tension and pain there. Or maybe that was the pain pills kicking in. Either way, it felt nice. He caught his dad periodically glancing at him, but at least Ned had stopped sending worried looks his direction. His friend was deeply engrossed in the movie. Peter was having a hard time paying close attention to it. At first the pain had distracted him but now he was just too tired to focus.

He managed to finish his hot chocolate before he gave in to the allure of the back of the couch. He leaned sideways into it again, trying to watch the movie out of the corner of his eyes, but after a few minutes he lost the battle of keeping his eyes open as well. He still kept listening, half awake.

At some point he must've actually fallen asleep because he was awakened when he felt someone take the empty mug from his loose fingered grasp. He couldn't have been asleep for that long because he could still hear the movie playing in the background. He heard the soft thud of his mug being placed back on the coffee table.

"Is he asleep?" He heard Ned whisper from the other couch and figured it must've been his dad that had divested him of his mug.

He didn't hear his dad respond but he must've nodded or something because a few seconds later Ned offered hesitantly, "I can go."

"No. It's fine. You can stay and finish the movie." Tony whispered from closer than Peter had figured he was. A second later he felt his dad rope an arm under his knees and behind his back and pick him up just enough to readjust him so he was lying flat on the couch again, a soft pillow under his head. Tony carefully lifted his casted leg and put another pillow under it and then covered him a warm blanket. His dad brushed his hair back off his forehead and Peter gave a small sigh of contentment. He listened as his dad took a few steps away and settled back into his armchair. Peter was glad to have the room to be able to stretch out flat, but at the same time he wished his dad had stayed on the couch with him. The new position was doing wonders, though.

He was about to drift off again when he heard Ned ask, "Is he really ok?"

At first Peter didn't think Tony was going to answer, but after a long pause he said, "He will be."

"I…I saw the footage online. It looked pretty bad."

The silence stretched again but Tony must not have done anything to discourage Ned because his friend asked tentatively, "He was really hurt, wasn't he?"

"Yeah kid."

"Some of the stuff I saw, it almost looked like he was…like he was dead." Ned's voice broke as he tapered off.

"He'll be ok." Tony said.

"I know. I just wish he didn't have to get hurt so much." Ned said with a resigned sigh.

"Me too."

The two of them stopped talking long enough that Peter had just about fallen asleep again when he heard Ned whisper hesitantly, "There's something I should tell you Mr. Stark."

Peter's heart raced, eyes still shut, but he was suddenly wide awake again. Oh god. Was Ned going to tell Tony that they'd hacked FRIDAY? That was a totally Ned thing to do. He'd start feeling guilty and then confess every ill deed he'd done without prompting.

"What is it?" Tony asked when Ned didn't immediately elaborate.

"Um…I-I…" Ned stuttered uncertainly.

He was actually going to do it. He was going to admit that he'd hacked FRIDAY, that Peter had been going out in the suit at all hours of the night without Tony's knowledge. He was going to tattle on him. Something he hadn't done to Peter since they were in third grade and Peter had swiped his double chocolate cupcake during lunch.

"I…"

Peter was surprised Tony was still waiting so patiently. He waited poised for the guillotine to fall.

"S-sometimes I hate that he's Spiderman." Ned's voice quaked with the confession. Peter was certain that wasn't what he'd intended to tell Tony. His friend must've had second thoughts about betraying him.

"Me too kid." Tony said with a heavy sigh, completely oblivious to the actual damning truth he'd come so close to learning. "Me too."

The room plunged into silence again. As the relief of not being found out faded away, the admission from Ned and Tony started to sink in. He hadn't realized that was how his best friend and dad felt. The guilt swirled in his gut but Peter tried not to display the ensuing emotion on his face. He didn't know what else he could do differently. He couldn't give up Spiderman. He wouldn't.

The sounds from Mission Impossible buzzed in the background, a dull distracting hum. Before Peter could start to think of some sort of solution to this new dilemma, he conked off again.

* * *

When Peter awoke some time later, movie sounds no longer played in the background. He didn't know how long he'd slept for but he guessed it'd been awhile since he felt fairly well rested and he could hear the sizzle from a pan in the kitchen, so it must be about dinner time. Unless he'd slept through dinner straight through the night into breakfast, but he didn't think Tony would've let him stay on the couch that long.

His super hearing picked up on the sound of footsteps along with the swirl of the elevator doors closing. Probably what had woken him up.

"Well if it isn't our very own Martha Stewart." Sam remarked from somewhere by the kitchen.

"Can it birdbrain." Tony retorted. "Unless you want to go hungry."

"That's the last thing he wants. He was whining for food the entire last hour of training." Rhodey joked.

"I was not."

"Yeah you were. That's why Cap finally had to call it. Isn't that right Cap?"

"Yep." Steve said in mock seriousness.

"You guys are all full of shit." Sam whined. "But now that I'm here…what's for dinner Stark?"

"Spaghetti bolognese." Tony answered.

"Your Mom's recipe?" Rhodey asked in surprise.

"Yeah."

"It smells delicious." Steve commented.

It did. Peter's mouth started to water and he swallowed it back. He considered getting up, but he didn't quite feel like moving yet. Nothing hurt too badly at the moment.

"What's the occasion?" Rhodey asked.

"Just felt like making it." Tony answered, but Peter had a feeling that wasn't the entire truth. None of the others questioned him further though. Peter couldn't remember Tony ever making that dish before. If Rhodey's question was any indication, it must be a special recipe.

"Need any help?" Steve offered.

"Not with this but you can finish setting the table."

Peter heard the clang of plates then Steve asked, "How many places should I set?"

"Eight." Tony answered.

"Hey, where's the pipsqueak?" Sam asked suddenly.

"On the couch, but be quiet, he's sleeping."

Two pairs of footsteps padded quietly over to him.

"Aw isn't that precious." Sam crooned from what sounded like only a few feet away. "He's so damn adorable."

"Mmhmm." Rhodey said quietly in agreement.

"If you wake him up you're doing the dishes." Tony warned.

"He kind of looks like a little puppy don't you think?" Sam continued, whispering loudly to Rhodey.

Ok well that just couldn't stand. What was it with people comparing him to the most unintimidating creature on the planet?

"Not a puppy." He mumbled half into the pillow with a frown. At some point he must've rolled onto his right side. That was probably why he didn't hurt so much.

"Good going. You woke him up." Rhodey accused.

"What was that?" Tony asked from the kitchen.

"Sam woke him up." Rhodey said, louder so Tony could hear.

"Goddammit Sam. You're doing the dishes! And you're eating last!"

"Oh fuck you! No I'm not!" Sam yelled back.

"Language." Steve interjected wearily.

Peter pried his eyes open and Rhodey leaned down and brushed a hand over his tangled curls.

"How are you doing buddy?"

"I'm ok." He tried to sound confident, but it came out slurred with sleepiness.

Rhodey chuckled. "Is your dad taking good care of you?"

Peter nodded with a big yawn.

"Ok well you'll let me know if I need to come give him a good kick in the ass, right?"

"He always needs that." Peter said with a teasing grin.

Sam barked out a surprised laugh from beside Rhodey as Rhodey smiled in delight and gave Peter's hair another tousle as he said, "You're right. He does."

"What's going on over there?" Tony called out, obviously having heard Sam's loud laughter.

"Nothing Tones. Just catching up with junior." Rhodey answered back and gave Peter a conspiratorial wink.

"Yeah well come over here. I need you for a second." Tony said.

Rhodey let out a put upon sigh as he straightened back up. "I'll be right back."

"You sure you're doing all right pipsqueak?" Sam asked, taking Rhodey's place after he walked away.

"Yeah." Peter said and rolled onto his back. When that didn't immediately cause a spike of pain he pushed himself up with his good uncasted arm.

"Here you go half-pint." Sam said as he fluffed Peter's pillow and adjusted it against his back.

"Thanks Sam." He said with a small smile as he leaned gratefully into the pillow. He couldn't remember ever being called pipsqueak or halfpint before. Maybe Sam showed his worry with new nicknames.

"How are we doing over here?" Steve asked as he came over to stand next to Sam and gave the other man a healthy clap on the back.

"He says he's doing good." Sam answered for Peter.

He nodded as Steve looked him over.

"You do look a little better." Steve agreed.

"Yeah?"

Steve nodded and reached a hand out to gently cup under his chin and angle his face left and then right, scrutinizing carefully. "All the bruising's faded and you've got a little color back in your cheeks. You'll be back in fighting shape in no time."

The corner of Peter's mouth turned up gratefully. "You think?"

"At this rate you'll be laying me out on the mat next week." Steve grinned and released his chin to tousle his hair. Peter made a face. He should really shower. The nurses had washed his hair right before he'd been released from the Medbay but it was probably getting gross again.

"As if I could lay you out." Peter rolled his eyes. He loved it, but sparring with Steve was always a humbling experience. He'd realized quickly that Tony hadn't been kidding when he'd told him that if Steve had been aiming to lay him out in Germany he would have. But Peter was slowly getting better and learning from the man.

"Give it time. Believe me, you'll get there."

"Yeah maybe in another few years." Peter said sarcastically.

"Maybe." Steve agreed with a shrug, but he didn't seem to mean it in a mocking way. More as a matter of fact. As if if it took that long it would be completely fine, and not something to feel embarrassed about.

Peter sighed and Steve gave his hair another tousle before moving to take at seat at the now open end of the couch by Peter's feet. Sam had already plopped down in the armchair where Tony had been earlier.

"Hey kiddo." Rhodey greeted as he came back over. He held a couple pills out toward Peter. "Your dad wanted me to give you these."

Peter didn't feel half bad right now, but he knew it wasn't worth the argument that would ensue if he tried to refuse them. He took the pills and then swallowed them down quickly with a few sips from the glass of water Rhodey handed him.

"Thanks." He said as he handed the glass back. Rhodey took it and set it on the coffee table within easy reach. The man frowned as he noticed the phone sitting on the coffee table near the glass.

"Is this yours?" Rhodey asked as he picked it up and held it out to show Peter, the screen alit with the time and several notifications.

"Yeah." He answered with a small frown. He hadn't noticed it was there before, but his dad had probably put it back once it'd finished charging.

"Well aren't you popular." Rhodey said with a glint in his eyes as he glanced at the screen and went to put it back down.

"Really? Let me see that." Sam said as he practically jumped out of his chair to swipe the phone from Rhodey.

"Hey!" Peter protested.

"Guys." Steve warned.

"Wow pipsqueak. You've got eight missed calls and seventeen unread messages. Impressive."

"It's really not. I haven't checked it in a week and they're all probably from Ned."

"Hm let's see." Sam said and swiped the unlock screen key with an exaggerated motion. He really needed to put a lock code on his phone.

"Sam." Peter whined. "Give it back."

"Ah." Sam said in disappointment. "Looks like you're right... Oh wait! Who's this MJ person?"

"She's a friend." Peter answered as the elevator door opened again and let out Clint, Bruce, and Natasha. Peter was glad for the distraction of their appearance. He held his hand out toward Sam, indicating he wanted his phone back.

" _She_? You didn't tell us you had a girlfriend." Sam teased.

"Who has a girlfriend?" Clint asked as he, Nat, and Bruce walked into the living room and sat down on the other couch.

"Peter." Sam answered.

"I do not." Peter protested. "I told you she's just a friend."

"Hey Stark did you know your kid has a girlfriend?" Sam yelled out toward the kitchen.

"No I don't." Peter yelled back before Tony could respond.

Peter ran a hand down his face, hating that he could feel his cheeks heat. It wasn't even true so he didn't know why he was getting embarrassed.

"Leave him alone Sam." Nat said in an almost bored tone, but Peter knew her well enough to hear the warning in it.

"Well I'm not saying you're a liar but she must be more than just a friend if she knows you're Spiderman." Sam said as he scanned whatever he was looking at on Peter's phone.

"Who knows Peter's Spiderman?" Tony asked as he walked toward them, drying his hands on a dish towel.

"She doesn't know I'm Spiderman." Peter denied.

"Uh yes she does. She called it your red and blue spandex thing. I mean I'm assuming that means Spiderman. Unless you have something else going on that has to do with red and blue spandex. I'm not judging."

"Who is this?" Tony asked, tone sharpening as he looked to Peter.

"It…it says that?" Peter asked in surprise.

"Read it for yourself." Sam tossed his phone toward him but Tony grabbed it out of the air before he could catch it.

"Let me see this." Tony said and the rest of the room waited on the edge of their seats in bated silence.

After what felt like forever to Peter but was probably only half a minute, Tony swore. "Shit."

"What?" Peter asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted to know.

"She knows." Tony said with a heavy sigh and then handed the phone to Peter.

"No way. How? I didn't tell her!" Peter denied vehemently.

"I know kid. It looks like she just figured it out."

"But…how?" Peter sputtered as he thumbed the open messages to the first one he'd missed from MJ. Apparently she'd texted him ten times. "I mean I know she's like crazy smart but still…"

 _Hey loser you get home ok?_

 _Apparently that knock off Terminator really trashed the school yesterday. Have you heard what they're going to do about it?_

 _Parker? Are you seriously ignoring me right now?_

 _Did you lose another backpack again? With your phone in it?_

 _Text me back loser or I'll have to call Ned. Don't make me be that girl._

 _Ned said he hasn't heard from you either. Not cool Parker. You know how he worries._

 _Are you ok? Seriously. Text me back._

 _If this is about your red and blue spandex hobby, I already know. So you can text me._

 _Ned didn't tell me. You're just a terrible secret keeper. Sometimes I wonder about the IQ of the students at our school that no one's figured it out. Anyway, I saw all that shit on the news and it looked bad. Let me know you're not dead._

 _You better not be dead or I'll kill you._

Peter couldn't help the small huff of amusement he made at that last text. It was totally an MJ thing to say.

"Glad you find it funny." Tony remarked, arms crossed as he stared down at Peter.

"I…don't?"

"Uh-huh." Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well text her back and put her out of her misery. And see if she can stop by tomorrow. Maybe by then I'll have figured out what to do about this whole thing." Tony waggled his hand in the air.

"Sorry dad." Peter said earnestly.

"Don't worry about it kid. We'll figure it out."

Peter nodded.

"But when you're feeling better I think you and I need to have a little talk about how to keep a secret identity a _secret_."

Ouch. Peter bit his lip.

"Yeah because you're the resident expert on that Stark." Clint said. "You kept your identity as Ironman secret for a whole what was it…a day?"

"And that's enough commentary from the peanut gallery." Tony said and threw the dirty dishtowel at Clint's face.

The rest of the group laughed and it eased any of the tension that'd developed.

"Dinner will be ready in five minutes you freeloaders." Tony stated then turned on his heel and walked back into the kitchen.

The conversation started back up around him but thankfully it wasn't directed toward Peter.

He looked back down at the text messages and started typing back a response.

 _Sorry it took so long to text you back. I'm not dead._

He didn't think MJ would get back to him right away. She wasn't exactly a quick texter, so he was surprised when the text bubble that showed she was typing a response back, popped up after only a few seconds.

 _I heard. Ned told me he heard from you yesterday._

 _Yeah sorry. Ned had my phone so I didn't get your texts until now._

 _It's fine._

 _Anyway I'm sorry if you were worried._

 _I wasn't worried. And stop saying sorry._

 _Sorry._ Peter texted back with a smiley face emoji after it.

MJ sent him the eye rolling emoji back.

When she didn't text anything else after a minute, Peter forced himself to text again.

 _Do think we could talk?_

 _We are talking._

 _I mean in person. Could you stop by tomorrow?_

 _What time?_

 _Does 2pm work?_

 _I suppose I can fit that in._

 _Thanks._ He added a smiling emoji.

 _Where am I going?_

 _?_

 _Where am I meeting you genius?_

Oh right. Peter chewed on his lip as he typed out the answer.

 _Avengers Tower._

He didn't know what he expected MJ to say but he wasn't surprised by her nonchalant response.

 _Figures._

Peter sent her the thumbs up and wide smiling emoji back. He didn't get a response in return but he hadn't been expecting one. Tomorrow was guaranteed to be interesting at least.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read and leave reviews. It's almost been a year since I first posted this and I never intended for it to take this long to finish, so thanks for hanging in there with me!


	21. Chapter 21

"Boss there is a teenage girl in the lobby who's here to see Peter. She identifies herself as Michelle Jones." FRIDAY interrupted the Die Hard movie he and Tony were watching.

Peter was camped in the same spot on the couch. It was becoming his second home and he wasn't sure how he felt about that, besides impatient to be able to get up and move around easily again.

"Send her up." Tony said and stood. He smirked at him. "Your girlfriend's here."

"For the millionth time, she's not my girlfriend." Peter rolled his eyes. "She's just a friend."

"Good, because if she was your girlfriend you'd probably have to marry her."

"What?" He couldn't tell if his dad was joking which was unusual.

"Now that she knows your secret you'd never be able to break up with her. She could go off and spill it to the first major news source that'd pay her the big bucks."

"MJ would never do that. Even if we were dating and we broke up."

Tony paused on his way toward the elevator and turned around to give him a weighted look that said he thought Peter was being extremely naïve.

"Besides, if we were dating, I wouldn't be the one breaking up with her. She'd be the one breaking up with me." Peter added.

Instead of arguing, Tony broke out in a large grin. "Hmm. So you do like her."

"Shut up. I do not." Peter said without any heat and turned back to the movie, purposefully ignoring Tony. Honestly, he'd never given it much thought before but Tony and the team's constant teasing since yesterday had made it hard to avoid. Of course he liked her as a friend. She was great. She was MJ. She was smart, funny in her own dry and sarcastic way, and one of the strongest people he'd ever met. He couldn't help but admire her a little and be intimidated by her more than a little. And he definitely enjoyed spending time with her. And anyone that saw her would recognize that she was beautiful in her own effortless way. That didn't mean he _liked_ her liked her.

"Uh huh. Sure." Tony said skeptically but Peter ignored him. He heard the slight rustle of papers just as the elevator door chimed quietly and slid open.

Peter twisted back around and watched as MJ walked in. She didn't look any different than normal, but he didn't know why he'd expected her to. Just because she was visiting him in Avengers Tower and knew his most deeply guarded secret didn't mean _she'd_ be any different. Maybe it was just hard for him to accept that she could become part of this side of his life and remain unchanged.

She took a few steps in without hesitation. The grandeur of the room and her current place at the penthouse of Avengers Tower didn't seem to phase her at all. Knowing her as well as he did, Peter hadn't really expected it to. She looked as unimpressed as ever.

She caught his eye from across the room and took a step in his direction, but before she could continue toward him, Tony stepped in her way.

"Ms. Jones." He greeted haughtily and shoved some papers toward her. "If you would be so kind as to sign these."

"Stark." She greeted back, not too rudely but not politely either. She'd left off the mister part after all, something Peter had had to work at even after he'd started living with the man. He watched as she took the papers from him and studied them intently.

Peter had to hand it to her. Most people would probably go weak in the knees at the sudden sight of Tony Stark, but not MJ. The only sign Peter had that she might not be quite as cool and collected as she outwardly seemed was that she took the papers Tony handed her without any extended interrogation.

She rifled through them in tense silence for about a minute before she snorted and slapped them back against Tony's chest. "Yeah I'm not signing these."

Peter couldn't help the smirk that stole across his face. He'd never seen his dad look gobsmacked before. She deftly maneuvered around him and took another few steps toward Peter before his dad recovered and chased after her.

"Wait." Tony ordered and grabbed her arm. She turned and glanced down at the hold he had on her and then raised an eyebrow at him and waited. After a couple seconds he released her like her arm was on fire.

"I've known Peter is Spiderman for almost a year." She said and hearing it said out loud like that made Peter flinch. "Don't worry. I'm not going to sign your stupid nondisclosure agreement but I'm also not going to go blabbing his secret identity. No matter how terribly kept it is."

"Hey!" Peter protested from the couch.

"You know it's true. It's lucky you're such a loser and no one pays attention to you or the whole school would know by now." She directed the comment to him.

"Hey." This time Tony voiced his protest, probably because of the whole getting called a loser thing. Peter didn't know how to explain that coming from MJ it was probably meant as a compliment.

"What? It's true. Ned and him talk about it at school all the time." She crossed her arms and cut an imposing figure facing Tony Stark, completely unperturbed.

"Sign the NDA or I won't let you see him." Tony threatened with more bite this time. This was going downhill quickly.

She snorted again, unaffected by the empty threat. "Yeah? And how are you going to do that? Take him out of school? File a restraining order against me with absolutely no basis?"

Instead of answering, Tony pursed his lips and frowned down at her, crossing his own arms and giving off the distinct and powerful air of 'I'm Tony Stark'.

"Dad it's fine." He said, trying to defuse the situation.

The slight raise of both eyebrows was the only indication MJ made that she was surprised by that statement. All too late he realized what he'd done. Shit.

"I see your point about the secret keeping." Tony deadpanned to her, casting an unimpressed look toward Peter.

"Sorry." He said with a wince.

MJ huffed. "So am I allowed to see him or not?"

"Sign the—"

"I'm never signing those papers." She interrupted, conviction clear.

"Dad." He implored. Again. Whoops.

The man cast a put upon glance at him.

"Tony." He corrected. "Just…can we talk? She doesn't need to sign anything."

Tony scrutinized the two of them, clearly unhappy, but after a few long seconds, he seemed to deflate.

"Fine." Tony agreed with a sigh before pointing a finger at her. "But I'm not done talking about his."

MJ quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't argue. She uncrossed her arms and quickly crossed the remaining space between the two of them.

"Um hey." He greeted her nervously.

She rolled her eyes and unceremoniously plopped down at the end of the couch. "Hey loser."

Thankfully, Tony didn't say anything about that. He'd moved into the kitchen, pretending not to listen. But Peter knew that's exactly what he was doing, pretending.

MJ appeared completely unfazed by it all even as she stared intently at him.

Before he could say anything else, she stated bluntly, "Ned wasn't exaggerating for once. You look like dog shit."

"No I don't." He tried to defend himself.

"You do." She said as if it were an obvious fact.

He frowned. When he'd seen his reflection in the mirror this morning he'd thought he was finally starting to look better.

"But you'll be fine soon enough." She flicked a stray curl back out of her eyes, not appearing all that concerned, although Peter knew her well enough to hear the hint of worry in her voice. "You have some kind of super fast healing thing or something right?"

"Or something." He answered with a grin.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I should be back on my feet in the next few days and I'll for sure be back to normal by the time school starts back up again." He clarified.

She nodded. "Good."

"So um how long have you known about the whole Spiderman thing?" He asked.

"Since last year." She shrugged as if the answer was inconsequential. "I wasn't kidding. You and Ned are really terrible at keeping secrets."

"Well um, thanks for not telling anyone."

"Don't be stupid Parker." She scoffed, offended. "You know I wouldn't tell."

"I know." He said, letting the sincerity soak through the statement. "But thanks all the same."

"You can thank me by stop being such an idiot and almost getting yourself killed." She motioned to his body littered with bruises and saddled with two casts.

He grinned. "Aw you do care about me."

"Don't push it." She said but didn't deny it.

Peter just grinned wider.

She rolled her eyes and glanced around, taking in the penthouse.

"So, this is where you've been crashing since your aunt died?" The observation came out more as a statement than a question. Said by anyone else, the seeming insensitivity might've made him flinch, but the words didn't hurt when MJ said them. He knew she wasn't saying it to be mean, and he almost appreciated the bluntness, the fact that she hadn't tried to dance around the whole loved one dying thing.

He nodded in reply but didn't add any more explanation to it. They'd both heard him call Tony 'dad'. MJ was more than smart enough to extrapolate whatever else she needed to from that alone.

"That explains the driver." She said, half to herself and half as a joke to Peter.

He let out a short laugh. "Yeah."

Her eyes finished wandering around the room and fell back upon him.

"So I'm guessing this is a secret too." She said sweeping a hand haphazardly to indicate the penthouse space. He didn't have to ask her what she meant. He knew she was talking about the fact that he lived in Avengers Tower now.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Ned knows." She stated. She didn't seem at all jealous, but Peter didn't figure she would be.

"Yeah." He said again.

"And Tony Stark's your…dad." She said hesitantly. It was the first she'd shown something besides her typical confidence.

"Not um biologically." He corrected quietly even though he knew Tony could probably still hear from the kitchen. He guessed how it could look. Like maybe he was his illegitimate love child or something. "But he um…adopted me when May…" He trailed off. Even though he'd appreciated MJ's directness, he still found it nearly impossible to say the words himself.

She nodded but didn't ask any questions about how he knew Tony Stark so well. Why the man had chosen to take him in. To adopt him. If that meant he knew the Avengers. Although she could probably guess the answers to those questions now that she knew he was Spiderman. The silence stretched as he waited to see if she'd ask or say anything else about it.

"That sucks." She finally said.

It was the very last thing he'd expected her to say, and the clang as Tony accidentally dropped what sounded like a pot in the sink and gave away his eavesdropping, made Peter let out short surprised burst of laugher.

"It's not so bad." He finally managed to say.

She shrugged. "Whatever you say."

He could tell she was teasing him in her own way and at the same time realized he'd missed her more than he'd thought. He wasn't quite ready for her to leave. He tried to recall if he'd felt like this over the summer. He didn't think so. He wondered if something had changed or if he'd just been too devastated to miss anyone except May.

"Um, do you want to watch a movie?" He asked, inwardly cursing that the question came out tight with nerves.

MJ's eyes widened slightly before going back to their baseline bored and unbothered appearance. "I would but I'm meeting my mom at a documentary screening in Brooklyn." She glanced at her watch and then shot him a semi-apologetic look. "I actually need to get going if I'm going to make it in time."

"Oh ok." He tried to act nonchalant. "Um what's the documentary about?"

"The ongoing struggle against women's oppression in the Middle East." She smirked as she stood.

"Sounds…interesting." He said.

She eyed him up and down, which made him feel oddly naked even though he was fully clothed and under a blanket, before she said, "Another time."

"Another time?" He frowned, feeling oddly off kilter. He didn't get it. And a big part of him hated that he didn't get it and couldn't prepare some witty comeback.

"The movie you want to watch together?" She clarified with a quirked eyebrow, uncharacteristically patient of her. "Another time."

"Yeah? That'd-that'd be great. For sure." He stumbled over the words.

"Leaving already?" Tony asked as he walked back over to stand behind Peter's sofa.

"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint." She said in mock seriousness.

"I think I'll live." Tony gave it right back. Peter sighed.

MJ smirked again as she looked back at him. "Take care of yourself Parker. Or should I call you Stark now?"

He knew she meant it as a clever joke, but he couldn't hold back the slight shock and panic that crossed his face. He watched MJ's brow furrow slightly as she looked from him to Tony behind him. He didn't know what she found there and he was afraid to look himself.

"Sorry." She apologized and Peter could tell it was genuine. "Didn't realize that was a touchy subject."

"It's fine." Peter said when it became obvious Tony wasn't going to say anything. "Um, I'll…text you later?"

"Yeah." She agreed and flicked another curl back off her forehead. "Later loser."

"Later." He said and couldn't keep the slight grin off his face. He watched as she turned and walked back to the elevator, getting in without looking back.

The elevator doors closed and a few long stilted seconds passed before Tony said, "Your girlfriend's terrifying."

He looked over at his dad and frowned. "She's not my girlfriend."

"All the same. Terrifying." His dad repeated.

Peter sighed and looked back at the closed elevator doors she'd just exited through. He turned back to his dad. "I know."

Tony came around to the front of the couch and sat in the spot MJ had just vacated. He had another mug of coffee in his hand. Peter had rarely seen him without it the past few days. Probably his doing.

Peter expected his dad to continue the conversation about MJ, so he was surprised when Tony cleared his throat nervously.

"Listen kiddo." He started. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Peter's brow furrowed as he turned his full attention to him.

"I was talking to Pepper a few days ago about something and your friend just reminded me of it."

For the life of him, Peter couldn't think of any similar train of conversation that could've occurred between Pepper and MJ.

"Pepper mentioned the two of you were talking awhile back about being the heir to Stark industries and the possibility of changing your name came up."

Peter's eyes widened in shock. He definitely hadn't expected this conversation. He felt completely blindsided. And he wasn't even mobile enough to try to escape if he wanted to.

"Wow ok. Didn't know I'd get that kind of reaction." Tony said in his own surprise.

"I'm sorry." He apologized automatically. "I just— I wasn't expecting— I don't—"

He had no idea how to explain his suddenly scattered and panicked thoughts.

"It's ok kid. Calm down. We're just talking." Tony smiled softly and reached out to squeeze his uncasted right leg in comfort. "It's just me."

"I know." He did. "Um why were you guys talking about that?"

"It just came up." Tony answered, not letting him deflect. "Can we talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about." He mumbled and picked at some invisible lint on his blanket.

"I think there is." Tony argued.

"What did Pepper say?" He tried to maneuver out of discussing his thoughts.

"You tell me." Tony countered.

"How would I know? You're the one that talked to her."

"You talked to her too buddy."

Peter scowled at him, annoyed that Tony was just as good, if not better, at the verbal maneuvering.

"Tell me what the two of you talked about." His dad instructed instead of asking.

"I don't remember." He lied.

"Peter." Tony said tersely. Peter wracked his brain to try to figure out a way to get out of this conversation or at least around it, but nothing came to mind.

"I-I don't know. We just talked." He shrugged.

"About what?"

"Stuff."

"Peter." Tony said his name again, this time with a sigh of disappointment.

Peter's frustration mounted and he found the words exploding from his mouth before he could stop himself, "What do you want me to say? She told me I'm the heir to SI even though we never even talked about it! And then she was asking if I was going to change my name because it made the most sense from a business perspective and I-I didn't know what to say! I'd never thought about it before. And if I changed my name, then what? I wouldn't be a Parker anymore? But that wouldn't be fair to my parents or Ben or May. But-but if I kept Parker as my middle name, then I'd have to get rid of Benjamin and that'd make me a terrible person after everything Ben did for me. He-he died because of me and then I-I what? Show my appreciation by just throwing his name away? I-I don't— I can't—" His breath was coming out in short little spurts.

"Ok ok. Calm down. Take a breath." Tony said as he rubbed his hands up and down over Peter's shoulders, trying to calm him. Peter was so distressed he couldn't even remember when his dad had moved from the other end of the couch to his side. At least the verbal vomit had finally stopped.

"I-I'm sorry." He choked out.

"Don't be sorry." Tony said. "I had no idea this was bothering you so much or we would've talked about it a lot sooner."

Peter looked away but Tony cupped his chin and moved his head back, forcing him to make eye contact. Peter saw nothing but love and concern in his dad's eyes. No hint of disappointment or anger.

"You don't have to change your name." Tony said, as if it was obvious. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You're Peter Parker. If sometime in the future you decide you want that to change, whether it's in a month or a year or ten years or never, that's fine too. It's entirely up to you. You're my son regardless. With or without my name. Ok?"

Peter sniffled and nodded. The relief of not having to decide between his new dad and his dead parents and guardians brought tears to his eyes.

"Good." Tony said with a nod and the hand cradling his chin let go so he could thumb away the fresh wet tear tracks trickling down his cheeks. Peter wanted to blame the lack of his emotional control on the painkillers.

"However," Tony continued unapologetically. "As my son, you're my heir. And that makes you the heir to Stark Industries. Regardless of how you feel about it. Or what your last name is."

"But…what if you have another kid?"

"What do I look like? Some spring chicken?" Tony joked.

"I'm serious. Y-you shouldn't make me your heir. What if you have your own real kid? They should be your heir. I'd never want to take that away."

"And what are you? My fake kid? Huh Pinnochio?"

He shrugged, not trusting himself to speak with the knot in his throat. He expected another lighthearted comment, so he was surprised when Tony cupped his cheeks in his hands.

"Peter, you're my kid. I'm not planning on having any others. And even if I did, as my oldest son, you'd still inherit SI."

"But I'm not really yours." Peter protested. "You just got stuck with me."

A blaze of anger flashed in Tony's eyes. He gave Peter's head a small shake and said firmly, "I _never_ want to hear you say that again. You hear me?"

More tears welled up and spilled from his eyes at the harsh reprimand. Under the stern gaze of his father he couldn't help but give a small nod of acquiescence.

"You don't get to choose your biological children. You're stuck with what you get." Tony continued, explaining with a fervent intensity. "I didn't get stuck with you. I _chose_ you. That makes you even more special. Understand?"

When Tony put it that way, maybe he did kind of get it.

He could barely see the blurry face of his dad through moisture gathered in his eyes. He blinked and his vision cleared as the tears fell. Tony was looking at him with blatant earnestness, concern, and love. He gave another small nod and sniffled as his dad wiped the new tears away with his thumbs.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I know." Tony said before pulling his head closer to kiss his forehead. "I love you. I just wish you'd believe it."

"I-I do." He croaked and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. "I love you too."

Tony smiled sadly at him as he swiped away more tears. "It's all right kid. We'll be all right."

Peter leaned forward so his head rested against Tony's chest. His dad released his face and brought his arms around him to cradle him in a careful hug instead. The position stressed his aching injuries but the feeling of comfort and safety was worth it.

"Everything's going to be all right." Tony mumbled as he ran a hand down the back of his head.

And that should've been that. He should've let his dad's assurances lull him into complacency, but a treacherous thought nagged at him.

"You don't regret it?" He asked before he could change his mind.

"Regret what?"

"Taking me in? Adopting me?"

"Never." His dad said sternly.

"Not even a little?"

"No." His tone was adamant.

"Then why do have all those books in your office to tell you how to deal with me?"

He felt Tony tense slightly at the question.

"They don't 'tell me how to deal with you'." Tony denied. "They're more like…a tool…so I don't screw up more than I already have with you. You've been through a lot and I'm new at this whole parenting thing. I figured some expert advice couldn't hurt. It's not because you're difficult or I regret adopting you or whatever other nonsense you've built up in your head. It's just a little extra help. Like those cheat guides you and Ned use for your video games."

Peter huffed a small wet laugh at the comparison and his dad kissed the top of his head.

"I still don't like it." He mumbled. "Makes me feel like a problem."

"You're not a problem." Tony said into his hair.

"If you think I'm so messed up why aren't you making me go to therapy?"

"Do you want to go to therapy?"

"No."

"I've thought about it." Tony admitted and Peter cringed. Wow his dad really did think he was messed up. "But there's no one I'd trust with you."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're going to do therapy right you need to be able to tell the truth." Tony explained. "And the more people that know that you're Spiderman or even that you're my son now, the more dangerous it is for you."

Peter sighed.

"And I think we've been doing ok." Tony added. "Right?"

He nodded.

"But listen kiddo, if that ever changes and I don't think you're doing so good, or if you decide you need to talk to someone, I'll make it happen. I'll figure it out. Ok?"

He nodded again.

"And just when were you in my office?" Tony asked. The question wasn't accusatory but he could tell it wasn't asked out of pure curiosity either. He'd have to be careful.

"Um Ned came over to play a computer game a few weeks ago when you were in DC. We needed another computer." He explained.

"He brought over a computer game that needs two computers to play but didn't bring an extra laptop?" Tony sounded suspicious and Peter's heart jumped in his throat. He swallowed hard.

"He uh doesn't have a laptop." He lied.

His dad put hand on the top of his head and pushed it back so he could make eye contact with him.

Tony's eyes narrowed as he studied his expression before asking, "If he doesn't have a laptop how'd he hack your suit in DC last year?"

Shit. Peter sometimes forgot how smart Tony actually was. The man didn't forget a thing.

"Um…" Peter hurried to think of a believable lie. "He did have a laptop last year, but it um broke."

"How'd it break?"

"I think maybe he dropped it?" Yeah real convincing. He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Hmm." Tony didn't look like he quite believed him. "So the two of you weren't snooping in my office while I was gone?"

"No!" He shook his head. "We weren't. I promise. We were playing a computer game. If you don't believe me, you can ask FRIDAY."

Tony's expression softened and he gave him a small smile. "That's all right kid. I believe you."

Peter smiled back and pushed his head forward to burrow back into his dad's chest, the characteristic scent of his dad helped to alleviate his stress.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about that you've been keeping to yourself?" Tony asked lightly.

Peter thought about it for a few seconds, and there honestly wasn't.

"No." He answered, unable to keep the slight surprise out of his voice.

"You sure?" Tony asked, amused.

"Yeah."

"Ok good." His dad ran a hand through his hair again. "Hey, since you're still awake, what do you say we have Bruce come up and take a quick look at you?"

Peter sighed and rolled his eyes, but he knew Tony couldn't see. Bruce had stopped by daily to check on him. He was supposedly the one in charge of monitoring his recovery, but Peter was getting a little sick of all the poking and prodding. He was mostly fine now anyway.

"Do I have to?" He complained.

"What? You don't like Bruce now?"

"I like Bruce fine, but I'm getting a little sick of _Dr._ Banner."

"Words I never thought I'd hear you say." Tony joked.

"I just don't feel like it today." Peter grumbled.

"Well tough. He's the reason you get to lay here on the couch at home instead of in a bed at the compound."

"Fine." He sighed petulantly as he let go of his dad and sat back. "But is Bruce even _that_ kind of doctor?"

"In fact he is. Along with his other seven doctorates." Tony answered. "Didn't he ever tell you about the time he needed to lay low so he hid out in Calcutta working as a doctor?"

"No." Peter frowned. That sounded kind of interesting.

"Hey FRI, be a dear and see if Bruce is free to come up and check on my kid." Tony addressed the AI. Peter's chest warmed at the nonchalant way Tony referred to him as his kid. He wondered if that would ever change. If he'd be twenty five and still be filled with surprise and wonder when Tony called him his.

"Yes boss."

Tony went back to talking to Peter. "You should ask him about it. He's got some good stories."

"Maybe I will." Peter said. "Hey do you think he's going to let me take these casts off today?"

"I don't kiddo. You'll have to ask him."

"Come on. I know the two of you talk about me behind my back. You have to have some sort of clue on the timeline."

"You make it sound so devious. It's not like that. We discuss your recovery, yes, but we're not plotting against you in dark rooms where you can't hear."

Peter rolled his eyes. "So, you still have to have some idea. Am I getting them off today?"

Tony huffed in amusement but answered, "Probably not today."

"When then?"

"I really don't know."

"Tomorrow?"

"Probably not tomorrow."

"See? You do know something."

"Why don't you ask Bruce?"

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Because it's not my decision and I don't want to be the messenger. I like being the dad, not the bad guy." Tony reached out to ruffle his hair as he answered.

"That just tells me I'm not going to like the answer."

Tony gave him a tired smile but didn't offer any more information. Peter wanted to keep pestering him, but he could tell from the look in Tony's eyes that he really didn't want to be the one to give him any bad news.

"Fine. I'll ask Bruce, but I can already tell I'm not going to like it."

"Ask me what?" Bruce asked as he walked into the room. Peter had been too distracted to hear him get off the elevator.

"Kid wants to know when the casts get to come off." Tony said before Peter had a chance to ask. Apparently Tony wouldn't answer him but he had no problem talking for him.

"Probably in a week or so." Bruce answered as walked to the couch. Tony stood to get out of his way, and the scientist took his spot perched on the edge of the couch.

"Another _week_?" Peter lamented. "But they don't even hurt that much now."

"But they're still very much broken." Bruce countered.

"Yeah well you should see the other guy." He joked as he settled in to get poked and prodded as his dad hovered nearby. "Pretty sure he ended up more broken and busted up than me."

"That is true." Bruce agreed distractedly as he rifled through his black medical bag to grab a stethoscope.

"Where did that robot come from anyway?" He asked them, suddenly curious. He hadn't thought to ask about it before, but none of the Avengers or his dad had told him anything about it, besides that it was destroyed. Along with part of his school.

Bruce and Tony shared a meaningful look but didn't answer.

"What?" He asked confused by the subterfuge. "Why can't I know about the robot?"

"Let Bruce take a look at you first and then we'll talk about it." Tony said.

Bruce didn't add anything as he pushed his shirt up and placed the stethoscope against his lower back.

He made a face at the coldness.

"Does that hurt?" Bruce asked, not missing a thing.

"No. Just cold."

"Sorry." Bruce said, bemused. "Take a deep breath."

Peter did as he was told, breathing as Bruce listened to his lungs. At least it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. Peter stayed quiet while the man listened to his heart. When he was done listening, he hung the stethoscope over his neck and it made him look like an actual doctor, although apparently he really was one. Peter waited as he leaned closer to press a flat hand gently against his injured left side, pressing lightly.

He'd been feeling better but the pressure against his broken ribs hurt and he pulled his face into a tight grimace.

"Still sore huh?"

"A little." He tried to downplay it.

Bruce palpated a particularly tender spot and he wasn't expecting it. He let out a little grunt of pain.

"Sorry." Bruce apologized, looking chagrined.

"It's ok." He said and the next second he felt his dad's hand land lightly on the top of his head. Even with the added comfort, he couldn't help but hold himself stiffer as Bruce finished looking at his side.

"So what's the verdict? Will he live?" Tony asked jokingly once Bruce let go.

"Oh I think so." Bruce answered equally lighthearted as he gently grasped his shoulder and pushed him back until he was lying down flat on the couch. Tony's hand stayed tangled in his hair. Peter hated this part. He'd thought the broken bones would be the most painful, but it was actually his abdomen that bothered him the most.

Bruce splayed a hand across his stomach and Peter couldn't stop himself from involuntarily tensing up.

"Try to relax." Bruce instructed and Tony raked calming fingers through his curls. Peter forced his muscles to unclench. To be fair, Bruce was as gentle as possible and he started at the least sore part of his stomach, but when he got to the sensitive part Peter scrunched his eyes shut. He tried to distract himself by focusing on his dad's hand in his hair but it was hard. Ow ow ow.

Finally Bruce was done. Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry." Bruce apologized again. "I know that part's no fun."

Peter responded with a quiet hum and a yawn. The poking and prodding always wore him out.

"Almost done." Bruce shot him an amused smile and moved his attention to his casted arm and leg. This part never bothered him. Peter let his eyes slip closed as he waited for Bruce to finish.

"He's healing, but he still has a ways to go yet." Bruce said to his dad after a couple minutes.

Peter opened his eyes at the sentence. He hadn't realized he'd already been half asleep.

"You guys always talk about me like I'm not here. I can hear you, you know." He complained.

"No we don't." Tony denied. "We thought you were asleep."

"You do too." He mumbled. "And you keep things from me."

"No we don't."

"Ok then why won't you tell me about the robot?" He asked, craning his neck back so he could see his dad's face from where he stood over his shoulder.

Bruce and Tony shared another long look.

"Huh?" He prompted.

"We're not keeping anything from you." Tony finally answered as Bruce stood and walked away. "We just don't know."

"You…don't know?" He didn't get it.

"The robot had a self destruct feature. Once we took it down, it incinerated itself. There was nothing left of it to figure out where it came from or what its objective was. Natasha's working on, but as of right now, we don't know." Tony explained.

"Oh." Peter blinked in surprise. The not already knowing everything about the robot didn't mesh with his flawless view of the Avengers. Before he could say anything else, Bruce came back with a large warm throw blanket and spread it out over him.

"Thanks." Tony muttered to his friend and took over tucking him in.

"Get some rest Peter." Bruce told him then turned to Tony. "I need to get back down to the lab but I'll see you at dinner."

"You still planning on making that tikka masala thing?" Tony asked, and the mention of Indian food made Peter realize he'd forgotten to ask about Calcutta. Maybe next time.

"Yeah. Clint's request." Bruce smiled.

"Thanks again." Tony said and clapped the man on his shoulder as he walked by him on the way out.

"Don't mention it." Bruce smiled again and left.

"I can't believe you don't know anything about the robot." Peter mumbled to himself after the elevator doors closed behind Bruce.

"Contrary to popular belief, we're superheroes, not gods. Well except for Thor. I guess he's technically a god. Or a demigod. Or whatever. But he's not here." Tony said. "Anyway. The point is, even we need a little something to go on. But if we find out anything about the robot, I'll let you know. Ok?"

"Ok." Peter said and yawned again.

"Get some rest kiddo." Tony ruffled his hair. "I think your girlfriend tired you out."

"She's not my girlfriend." He grumbled even though he knew his dad was just teasing him.

Tony smirked.

Peter sighed. He had a bad feeling the girlfriend thing was destined to become a recurring taunt.

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure if Bruce actually has an MD but I'm going with it since I've seen some sources that say he's an MD/PhD and he seemed to be working as a physician in India at the beginning of the first Avengers movie. As always, thanks for all the wonderful comments! Let me know what you thought about this chapter!


	22. Chapter 22

The next couple weeks crawled by. Peter knew he shouldn't complain, because even though he was hurt, he got to hang out with the Avengers while he healed. Ned was always quick to remind him of that fact whenever he whined to him _. 'But dude you live with the_ Avenger _s, so what if Tony Stark won't let you off the couch? Didn't Hawkeye and Captain America play Mario Kart with you all day yesterday? That sounds like an awesome vacation to me.'_

And Ned was right. Living with the Avengers was great. And they did do their best to make his recovery as painless as possible, both physically and emotionally, but convalescing still sucked. He decided to try to avoid getting his ass kicked by an evil enhanced robot in the future. Once was more than enough.

Peter sighed and tried to focus back on the advanced calculus homework in front of him. He only had a few problems left, but his mind kept wandering. His school had opened again on Tuesday, so he'd only been back for a few days, but he already had heaps of homework. It was as if the teachers were trying to make up for all the lost time by cramming in as much as possible before the winter break. He had double the usual amount of homework in every class and it was definitely making it harder to go out as Spiderman again, but he'd still managed a few hours per night this week.

Bruce had given him a clean bill of health at the end of last week but Tony had been reluctant to let him patrol right away. He'd eventually given in over the weekend, but he'd seemed really uptight and on edge about it so Peter had tried to be extra careful for his sake. And it'd worked out.

He hadn't received so much as a bruise.

He concentrated on the last problems of his homework and managed to finish faster than he thought he would.

"FRIDAY what time is it?" He asked as he shoved his homework and the books he'd need for tomorrow back into his backpack.

"It is currently seven twenty five PM." FRIDAY answered.

Awesome. That was the fasted he'd gotten done with his homework all week. He had plenty of time to go out as Spiderman, especially since Tony was still in DC with several of the other Avengers.

Most of the others, especially Steve and Rhodey, had been back and forth between New York and DC for the past few weeks for sessions and meetings, but Tony had stayed out of it and stayed with Peter until Bruce had declared he was completely healed and back to normal. Peter had vacillated between feeling grateful his dad refused to leave him no matter how important the issues in DC were, and feeling smothered because his dad refused to leave him. Like ever.

By last week, Peter had definitely been craving some space. Tony had admittedly hovered less after Bruce had given his blessing, but he'd still stayed fairly close.

When Tony had left at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning, before Peter was even up, to head down to DC to finalize the Accords discussion with everyone else, Peter had been grateful for the break.

But now that it was Thursday night, and a few days had passed without seeing him, Peter found he kind of missed his dad. They'd talked on the phone yesterday after dinner and texted on and off throughout the day today, but after growing accustomed to seeing him everyday and spending tons of time with him, the switch to not seeing him at all was kind of hard. And as far as he knew, his dad wasn't planning on coming back until everything was set with the Accords, which from the sparse updates he'd gotten, wouldn't be until tomorrow at the soonest. And more likely, it'd be sometime next week.

In the meantime, Peter had been left behind in the Tower with Bruce as his sole supervision. Apparently Wanda and Vision had taken off to somewhere in Europe to hide out just in case things went south, and Clint and Scott were home with their families probably for the same reason. Peter wasn't sure what the plan was if the worst happened, but he had a feeling it involved fleeing the country whether he liked it or not.

He really hoped it didn't come to that. He didn't want to leave Queens undefended and he really didn't want to leave his friends or his school. He tried to stay confident that his dad and the Avengers would be able to sort everything out with the government.

And until it was settled, at least he still got to be Spiderman.

He stood from his desk chair and stretched before making his way toward his closet where his suit was hidden.

"FRIDAY, initiate arachnid dark protocol." He said as he opened the closet door.

"Protocol engaged." She responded automatically and he allowed himself a proud smile. The hack still worked like a charm. He grabbed his suit and quickly changed into it.

He always got a little nervous doing this when Tony was home in case the man snuck in to check on him or something and discovered him gone, but with his dad safely away in DC, Peter wasn't anxious at all about sneaking out tonight.

Bruce had fed him dinner. Crab cakes and salad. Finally something besides Thanksgiving leftovers. He couldn't understand how they could have so many leftovers in a Tower where everyone was a superhero and most of them ate more than the average human, especially him and Steve.

Thinking about Thanksgiving made him smile as he pulled his mask on. It'd been a surprisingly low key affair. Tony had had it catered by some amazing chef. And he'd definitely ordered more food than they'd needed.

It'd been a smaller group at the Tower than Peter had expected. Clint and Scott had gone home for it, and Nat had gone with Clint to his family's farm. Sam had gone home as well to spend the weekend with his mom, and Vision and Wanda had already left for Europe at that point. So it'd just been him, his dad, Steve, Rhodey, and Bruce, but they'd still had a great time.

Since the Thanksgiving leftovers had run out last week, Bruce had been stuck with the responsibility of feeding him while everyone was away, but he didn't seem to mind it. In fact, he seemed to enjoy spending time with him, but Peter still felt a little bad about it. He'd offered to help cook every night, but every night he'd been turned down. He understood that Bruce used cooking for others as a way to show he cared about them, but Peter didn't get why that meant he couldn't help chop up some lettuce. May had always let him help.

It'd been six months since May had died, and some days it felt like only yesterday, but then other days it felt like another lifetime ago. On Thanksgiving they hadn't gone around the table and said what they were thankful for or anything cheesy like that, like he and May used to do, so Peter had taken his own silent moment to be thankful that he'd been lucky enough to find a new family in Tony. And in the Avengers.

He felt his eyes start to prickle with emotion at that thought. Instead of dwelling on it, he opened his balcony doors, webbed onto the balcony, and jumped.

The exhilarating free fall into the night air was more than enough to distract him.

* * *

Tony rubbed his eyes and sighed as he walked out of the elevator. The last few days had been long and trying, leaving him exhausted. The team had talked about staying another night in DC and flying back in the morning, but they'd all wanted to get home now that the Accords business was finalized. Especially Tony. He missed his kid.

He hadn't told Peter he was coming home early in case things hadn't worked out. He hadn't wanted to disappoint him. But the committee and the Avengers had finally come to an agreement and the paperwork was in the process of being drawn up and finalized. They'd fly back down on Monday and sign it.

The new amendments had worked out much better than they'd hoped. They gave the Avengers the opportunity to act emergently if needed within a certain scope of parameters. The intervention with the robot and Spiderman in New York would've qualified. In fact, they'd used that example to highlight the flaws of the current Accords. Tony had brought in expert data analysts to testify and prove that if the Avengers hadn't intervened when they had, the death toll and destruction would've been infinitely worse. When faced with the insurmountable evidence, the committee had had no choice but to agree that waiting on government approval didn't always make sense.

After a long several weeks of conferences, and meetings, and Senate hearings, there'd been several other amendments and compromises put through. But in the end, everything had worked out in the Avengers favor. All of Ross's previous proposals had been shot down. Tony couldn't wait to rub it in the man's face.

But for now, he just wanted to surprise his kid.

"FRIDAY where's Peter?"

"Peter is currently in his room." She replied.

"What's he doing?" Tony asked as he glanced at his watch and saw it was only ten thirty five. "Is he asleep?"

It was kind of late, but not so late that Tony thought the kid would be sleeping yet. He walked over to the fridge and opened it, looking for something to drink. He was parched.

There was a beat of hesitation from FRIDAY before she said again, "Peter is currently in his room."

"I know. I heard you the first time dear. I asked, what is he doing? Sleeping? Doing homework? Do you need some routine maintenance again?" He asked as he grabbed one of his pressed green juices. He twisted the cap off and took a couple large gulps.

"Peter is currently in his room." FRIDAY repeated again and Tony frowned and paused in his drinking. He pulled the juice bottle away from his lips as a cold tingling sensation ran down his spine. Could someone have hacked FRIDAY? The idea terrified him, but it shouldn't be possible. No one should be able to get to her. He'd made it impossible unless they had access to his personal servers and no one did because FRIDAY made sure of that. She was her own line of defense and he'd made her perfect.

"FRIDAY where am I?" He asked.

"You're in the kitchen."

"What am I doing?"

"You were drinking juice from the bottle, but now you are standing and talking to me." FRIDAY responded. A small wave of relief ran through him.

"Is there anyone else in the penthouse besides me and Peter?"

"No boss."

He sighed in relief and went back to chugging his juice. Huh. It must just be some sort of glitch centered around Peter's room. He'd have to look into it. But at least no one had hacked his AI to break into the Tower while they were gone.

Tony finished off the juice and tossed the plastic into the recycling bin under the sink. He'd just have to check and see what his kid was doing the old fashioned way. With his eyes.

He knocked on Peter's bedroom door with the knuckle of his middle finger, softly enough so if Peter was sleeping, it wouldn't wake him up.

When it didn't elicit a response, he tried again and then called softly, "Peter? You awake?"

Nothing.

Huh. Maybe he actually was asleep. Tony went to grab the doorknob and hesitated, palm inches from it. He didn't want to accidentally wake him up. The kid needed all the sleep he could get, especially since he'd started back at school and it seemed like it was the teachers' goal in life to drive their students into the ground. Tony figured he could see him in the morning and surprise him then.

He turned around and took a step toward his own bedroom door before he paused. On the other hand… The weird glitch with FRIDAY came back to mind. It was probably nothing, and Peter was probably in his room sleeping and fine, but Tony knew he wouldn't feel settled enough to sleep tonight without seeing him with his own eyes first.

He sighed and turned back around and grasped Peter's bedroom doorknob. He'd just try to be as quiet as possible so he didn't wake him up. He slowly opened the door and frowned. Even in the darkness he could tell Peter wasn't in his bed. It was still pristinely made. A habit Tony appreciated, but couldn't take credit for. May had instilled it in him long before Tony had even met him.

Maybe the kid had fallen asleep at his desk doing homework?

Tony took a couple steps in and looked toward Peter's desk, but that was empty as well. Peter was nowhere in sight.

"FRIDAY lights." He commanded but even with the room fully illuminated, he didn't see his kid anywhere.

"Peter?" He asked, louder this time, no longer concerned about waking him up. He walked over to the bathroom door and pushed it open. Empty. Then he checked under the bed and in the closets even though he couldn't think of a single scenario for why Peter would be in either of those places. Empty as well.

"FRIDAY where's Peter?" He asked again, unable to keep the hint of panic from his voice.

"Peter is currently in his room." She answered.

"Except he's _not_." Tony snapped. "I'm in here and Peter clearly is not. Unless he's suddenly developed invisibility as one of his spider powers."

"Peter!" He yelled this time. No response. "Is he in the Tower FRIDAY?"

"Peter is currently in his room." She repeated.

"Fuck!" Tony had programmed FRIDAY to be so lifelike even he sometimes forgot she wasn't perfect. She was still prone to errors in code and functioning. "Stop saying he's in his room. He's not in his room FRIDAY."

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. _Think._ Bruce had told him they'd had dinner together only a few hours earlier. He couldn't have just disappeared.

"FRIDAY, trace Peter's phone."

"Peter's phone is in his bedroom." She said, but Tony wasn't confident that was true since she'd said the same thing over and over about Peter himself when clearly he wasn't there.

"Call it." He ordered tersely. A few seconds later, a familiar ringtone blared from the desk. Tony walked over and picked up Peter's phone from where it was half hidden under a spiral notebook.

"Dammit." He swore and set it back down, fear erupting in him and making his heart race.

Peter wouldn't leave his phone. He glanced around the room again. There was no evidence of a struggle. There hadn't been in the living room or kitchen either. Peter wouldn't go without a fight. Unless he'd been drugged from afar, but with his spider sense was that even possible? And how would they get access? Through the window? But why would he have his window open in the middle of December? Unless it was something small enough and fast enough to go through the window. Tony walked over to the balcony doors but he didn't see any evidence of that. There were no holes anywhere. The glass was intact.

Then what else could've happened? Where else could his kid possibly be? And how did it all come together to explain the glitch in FRIDAY?

A crazy and terrible possible explanation suddenly came to mind.

"FRIDAY, where's the Spiderman suit?"

"The Spiderman suit is currently located in Queens, New York." FRIDAY sounded confused as she answered.

"Oh I'm going to kill him." Tony whispered angrily to himself, everything instantly clicking into place.

"Bring up the baby monitor footage in real time." He ordered as he left Peter's room, walking briskly to his office. "Play it on my phone."

"Yes boss."

Tony pulled out his phone and watched as the screen showed him what Peter was currently seeing, which was a dizzying view of a building in Queens as he swung past it. He was obviously webslinging.

 _"Karen is that taco stand open right now? You know, the one a few blocks away from Mr. Delmar's place?"_ Peter's voice came out of Tony's phone speakers.

He was also obviously fine. The worry within Tony unfurled, only to be instantly replaced with blazing hot anger.

Tony didn't listen to Karen's response. Instead, he set the phone down on his desk, sat down, and wasted no time accessing FRIDAY's code from his computer. It took him less than a minute to find the hack.

"Son of a bitch. He did it." Tony whispered to himself as he got angrier and angrier. "I can't believe he actually did it."

He frowned as he thought about it for a minute. "No. It couldn't have been him."

Not that Peter wasn't smart enough to do it, but hacking something as complex as FRIDAY would've taken an experienced hand. A very experienced hand. Like someone who had already proven capable of hacking the Spiderman suit…

"It had to have been that friend of his." Tony mumbled. "FRIDAY, did Ned ever have access to this computer?"

"Yes boss. He accessed it six weeks ago when he and Peter were attempting to play a video game."

"Attempting? So they didn't actually play it?"

"No boss. The game disc didn't successfully open on your computer." Tony pursed his lips at that explanation. So he'd had a preset hack already done on the disc and uploaded it onto his computer and completed whatever else he'd needed to by hand.

Those little hooligans. He'd been played. Six weeks. For six weeks Peter had been sneaking out as Spiderman under his nose.

He took a deep breath and held it, trying to cool down. It really wasn't helping.

"FRIDAY, pull up the Spiderman suit logs. I want to see all the access times over the last six weeks."

"Yes boss." FRIDAY answered, and he wasn't sure if he was imaging it, or if she actually sounded a little nervous. Probably nervous for Peter, given how much trouble he was in.

The suit logs popped up on the screen. Tony looked them over. Before he'd gotten hurt, Peter had been using the hack to go back out in the suit long after Tony had thought he'd gone to bed.

"That little…" He mumbled to himself and shook his head. He was going to ground him for forever. Longer than forever. And the kid would be lucky to see the inside of the Spiderman suit before his thirtieth birthday. If then. But first things first, he needed to fix the hack and fix the flaw in his system that had even made it possible in the first place.

It only took thirty seconds to undo what Ned had done and then another five minutes to put in an extra layer of security over FRIDAY's code, so even from his home computer, he'd need to input a system administrator code. Steps he shouldn't have to take.

He should be able to trust his kid. Peter was in so much trouble. Tony finished typing and stood, grabbing his phone.

"FRIDAY where's Peter?" He asked as a trial.

"Peter is currently in Queens patrolling as Spiderman." FRIDAY answered, the truth this time.

"Yeah that's what I thought." Tony said, pressing the button on his phone to illuminate the screen. It still showed Peter swinging around Queens, completely happy and oblivious to his impending doom. Tony thought about calling him from the suit and telling him to get his butt back home, but the truth was he didn't trust himself to remain civil with the kid yet. And he didn't want to say something in the heat of anger that he couldn't take back.

He walked back into Peter's room, turning all the lights off by hand before sitting down in the desk chair. He reclined back and set his feet on the desk top with ankles crossed, holding his phone in his lap. He watched the screen and waited for Peter to return on his own, all the while trying to get a better handle on his fury.

* * *

A/N: In honor of the new Captain Marvel movie (I'm seeing it tomorrow), an early update! Also, I've decided my goal is to have this story done before Endgame comes out, so that means more frequent updates. Yay! And quite a bit more story over the next couple months since I think it's currently shaping up to be around 30 chapters long, give or take. As always, let me know what you think! Reading all your feedback truly inspires me!


	23. Chapter 23

It took longer than he thought it would for Peter to get back. Tony had had a long week and when he'd gotten home he'd wanted nothing more than to see his kid and go to bed, but those plans had clearly gone out the window. Along with Peter apparently.

He'd had FRIDAY play back how Peter was getting in and out of the Tower without anyone knowing about it and had found out that his kid had irresponsibly tested out his new webbing without telling anyone, which had only incensed him further. Although at this point he was tired enough, and he'd spent enough time sitting and waiting, that his white hot anger had simmered to a slow burn. Probably good. For Peter's sake.

He'd considered calling Peter several times to tell him to come home, since it was nearly three in the morning and the kid still hadn't returned, but each time he'd dismissed the idea. He wanted to start this conversation in person. He needed to have this conversation in person. Not that he was worried Peter would run away or anything drastic like that, but he didn't know if he'd be able to keep his temper in check as well if he wasn't staring into the kid's bambi eyes.

At least he wouldn't have to wait much longer. Fifteen minutes ago the baby monitor footage had shown Peter was on his way back, so he should be home any minute now. Tony glanced back down at his phone just in time to watch his kid web up the balcony and start to ascend the Tower.

Tony pocketed his phone and took a few deep calming breaths, in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"Don't be like your father." He mumbled to himself. "Don't say something you'll regret. Even though the little twerp hacked into FRIDAY and changed her code just so he could straight out defy you and sneak out behind your back..."

The thought got him worked up again so he took another couple deep breaths and tried to keep calm. Or Zen. Or whatever it was Bruce called it to keep from hulking out when he got mad.

He caught sight of a flash outside the balcony window, so he reclined back in Peter's desk chair with his arms crossed in front of him, feet still kicked up on the desk corner.

He stayed still and silent in the dark and watched as Peter climbed over the balcony railing onto the balcony and then slowly slid the door open before stepping in and closing it quietly behind him.

The kid gave a heavy sigh of relief that was even audible to Tony before he pulled his mask off and tossed it toward his nightstand as he took another step further into his room.

"Lights FRIDAY." Peter said softly and Tony stayed absolutely still and waited.

The room flashed, instantly brightened. It took Peter an embarrassingly long couple seconds to look his way. The kid took another step into his room and then glanced toward the desk.

His eyes went wider than Tony had ever seen at the sight of Tony sitting in his desk chair. It would've almost been funny if Tony wasn't still so pissed.

"Holy shit." Peter gasped in surprise and took a stumbling step back, clutching at his chest. "You scared me."

Not quite the reaction he was expecting. Tony raised his eyebrows, letting some of the anger show on his face.

Tony could see it on Peter's face the second it clicked and he realized what Tony's presence in his room meant.

"Oh fu—"

"Careful. You're already in enough trouble." Tony interrupted in warning, tone terse as he dropped his legs down to the floor and stood.

"I-I-I can explain!" Peter stuttered with hands out in defense, fear evident in his expression. "There was this uh this-this um thing? In Queens. I-I needed to help with it."

It was a horrible excuse. Tony fought the instinct to roll his eyes. It didn't really even explain anything. He wasn't sure if he was more mad that the kid had tried to lie or that it was so spectacularly bad.

His disbelief must've been obvious.

"Wh-what-what are you doing here?" Peter asked nervously, and Tony was brought back to the first time he'd met Peter in his aunt's apartment and he'd tripped over his words the same way.

"What am I doing here?" Tony asked angrily as he took another step toward his kid. Peter took a corresponding step back in response. "Well I thought I was coming home early to surprise my kid, but lo and behold I get back to find out he isn't home. And then I find out he's been sneaking out to be Spiderman for the last month and a half!"

"I-I—" Peter stuttered.

"You what?" Tony questioned. "What's your excuse? Really, I want to hear it."

Peter stayed silent. He must've known better than to try to lie again. Instead, he kept walking backwards as Tony continued to advance toward him.

"Oh and it gets better, because apparently in order to sneak out behind my back, you hacked my AI. The AI responsible for the safety of the entire Tower. The safety of all the Avengers. But most importantly, the safety of you, _my kid_." Tony knew his anger was clear but he thought the concern behind the words belied it slightly.

Peter swallowed hard. "I-I'm sorry I—"

"No!" Tony snapped. "You don't get to say you're sorry, because you're not! You had absolutely no problem waiting for the perfect time while I was away to mess with FRIDAY's code so you could keep going out as Spiderman at all hours of the night without my knowledge. Did you even once stop to think about what could've gone wrong?"

"I-I—" Peter ran out of space to back up and he bumped into his nightstand.

"Of course not!" Tony continued his tirade, unable to stop now that he'd allowed some of the fury to take hold again. "All you were thinking about was how you had to be Spiderman! Not about how the rules I set for you have an actual purpose. That they're meant to keep you safe. No, you hacked my AI without considering any of that, so you could sneak out behind my back to do something I told you not to do!"

God the déjà vu from yelling nearly the same thing over a year ago after the ferry incident wasn't pleasant.

"I'm sorry." Peter's apology came out barely above a whisper and Tony could literally see the blood draining from his face. The kid obviously knew he was in enormous trouble. Good.

"And you know what's worse? You didn't even do it. You had your _friend_ hack into my AI!" Tony threw his hands out in frustration. "Do you have any idea what could've happened if he'd screwed up? If he'd inserted the wrong code? _Do you_?"

Tony waited for a response but all he got was a shake of Peter's head.

"No?" He asked, voice dropping in disbelief. "You don't? A smart kid like you, and you have no idea?"

Peter shook his head again, and Tony hated the small spark of fear in his eyes, but he didn't stop. This was too important. Peter needed to understand.

"Besides accidentally destroying FRIDAY, one of the greatest accomplishments of my life's work, it could've started a cataclysmic degradation in the code that could've snowballed until all the failsafes of the Tower were corroded, the failsafes we all trust to keep us safe. It might've been too late by the time I noticed it, since I wouldn't have been looking for it. Because I never expected my own kid to so blatantly betray me like this."

"I'm sorry." Peter whispered again like a broken record, and as mad as Tony was, he hated that this time he could see tears welling in his kid's eyes.

"No! I'm sorry isn't going to cut it this time!" He threw his hand out in an exaggerated motion. He needed to drive the point home. Peter could never ever do this again. "Doing this didn't only endanger your life, it endangered the lives of every single other person in this Tower. How would you have felt if something had happened to Clint or Natasha or Steve or _me_ because of some error in the code your friend created?"

Peter's bottom lip trembled, something Tony had never seen happen before and it made something twist in his chest, but he bolstered on.

"And how do you think _I_ would've felt if god forbid something had happened to _you_?" Tony accentuated by pressing his pointer finger against Peter's chest. "Huh?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't- I-I wasn't thinking." Peter hung his head.

"Damn right you weren't thinking." Tony accused and then ran a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh before he asked in a softer tone, "How am I ever supposed to trust you again?"

At that, Peter let out a choked sob.

"I just wanted to be Spiderman." He choked out between tears. "I-I just wanted to be a hero."

"What you did was not being a hero." Tony said. "It was the very opposite of what being a hero stands for."

The soft crying didn't stop and Tony had to bite the inside of his own lip as he watched Peter cross his arms in front of his chest in a poor attempt of self comfort.

"You didn't think about anyone but yourself. Only about what you wanted. Screw everyone else. All the people that care about you." Tony continued.

"I-I'm sorry Tony." Peter's pleading eyes caught his, glistening tear tracks covered his cheeks. God Tony hated this, but he had to drive the point home.

"See, the thing is, I don't even know if I can believe you." Tony shook his head sadly. "I don't know if you're really sorry. Not when you've been lying to me for weeks. _Weeks_ Peter."

"Please dad _._ I-I mean it. I do. I'm _sorry_!" Peter cried. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I d-didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"It doesn't matter. You still did." Tony said tersely, lips pursed. "You really let me down kid."

Peter's knees bent and he slid slowly to sit on the floor, dropping his head onto his knees and all out sobbing.

Tony's heart broke at the sight but he didn't move to comfort the kid no matter how much he wanted to.

"Here's what's going to happen." Tony continued with a dismissive sniff, portraying an air of unaffectedness at the dramatics in front of him even as chest continued to clench at his kid's obvious misery. "You're grounded. You don't step a foot outside this Tower except for school. You go to school, you come home. That's your life now. No more visiting friends. No more friends visiting you here. No more Spiderman."

Peter's head shot up at that, face absolutely stricken.

"For how long?" His kid asked in a whisper.

"Until I say otherwise." He answered, keeping it purposefully vague, because he honestly hadn't decided yet.

Peter's bottom lip quivered again.

"And I'm taking the suit back." Tony said, holding a hand out, intention clear that he wanted Peter to hand it over.

"N-no dad. You promised." Peter begged, eyes wide.

"That was before you hacked into my AI and snuck out behind my back and showed you couldn't be trusted." Tony reiterated and beckoned with his hand. "Give it."

Peter stared at him in shock for a couple long seconds, but when it became clear he he wasn't going to change his mind, the kid reluctantly pushed himself back to his feet.

Tony watched as Peter pressed the spider emblem in the center of his chest and the suit went slack around him. He waited as the kid stepped out of it and held it out to him, tears still slipping down his face. Tony took it without any outward remorse.

He draped it over his arm and held his hand back out. "Webshooters."

Peter's mouth opened as if to protest but he must've thought better of it because the next moment he unfastened them from his wrists and held them out.

Tony put them in his left hand and then held his right back out again. "The mask too."

"P-please dad." Peter pleaded, unable to stop himself this time, request made even more pitiful by the fact that he was now dressed only in his boxers.

Tony knew he probably wanted to keep the mask so he could talk to Karen, his suit's AI, but Tony refused to give an inch on this. This had to hurt. If it didn't hurt, Peter wouldn't learn. And this was a lesson that needed to stick forever. Peter could never be tempted to alter FRIDAY's code again.

" _Now_." Tony snapped and Peter let out another short sob as he turned and grabbed the mask off his nightstand behind him and handed it over.

Once Tony took it, Peter hung his head.

"And FRIDAY," Tony addressed his AI this time, "lock Peter's balcony door until further notice."

Peter flinched as the resounding lock clicked in place.

"Now go to bed." Tony ordered. "It's a school night."

He turned and started walking out, Spiderman suit and webshooters in hand, leaving his kid audibly sniffling and crying behind him. And God it was hard. It almost physically hurt him to not comfort his child when he was in so much distress, but he couldn't. He couldn't soften this blow no matter how much he wanted to. It was for Peter's own good. Even knowing that, he could barely force his feet to take him to the bedroom door. But somehow he made it.

"Dad." Peter called out to him brokenly as he twisted the doorknob and opened the door. "I'm really sorry."

He hesitated. There were so many things he wanted to say to that. He wanted to turn around and say he knew that. He knew Peter was sorry. He wanted to tell him it would all be all right and that he was sorry too. But he knew he couldn't actually say any of that, and he knew that if he turned around again the kid might see the remorse on his face. Instead, he didn't acknowledge the apology. He stepped out the door without a backward glance. As he closed the door behind him, he heard Peter break down sobbing.

He crossed the hallway and once he was his own bedroom, door safely shut behind him, he let the tears well up in his own eyes. No matter how many times he tried to tell himself it was all for Peter's own good, he'd never felt like a more terrible father.

* * *

Tony paced.

He'd tried to sit and work on his Starkpad but that hadn't worked, so then he'd tried watching TV but he hadn't been able to concentrate on that either, so eventually he'd started pacing instead. He'd thought about going down to the workshop, but he knew he was too unfocused from the tongue lashing he'd just given Peter. He couldn't stop replaying everything over and over in his head, wondering if he'd been too harsh. If he should've said or done it all differently. If he'd acted too much like his own father. He didn't think so.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his thoughts. He glanced at his watch. It was 3:10AM. He had a bad feeling he already knew who was calling him. He pulled his phone out and wasn't surprised to see an unknown number calling. He thumbed the answer button with a heavy sigh.

"What do you want Ross?" He asked in a bored tone.

There was a pause on the line before the other man responded, "Stark. How did you know it was me?"

"I know everything." Tony quipped as he kept pacing, for a different reason this time. "Did you hear that the Accords committee decided in our favor? Are you finally calling to concede?"

"No."

"No? Well I hate to say it but I'm not really in the mood for one our lovely chats, so I'm going to have to—."

"I'm calling to give you one more chance." Ross interrupted before Tony could finish his sentence and hang up. "Because I'm such a generous guy."

"Yeah generous really isn't the first adjective that comes to mind to describe you." Tony said, sarcasm apparent. He really wasn't in the mood for Ross. "I think power hungry, deluded asshole probably fits better."

"Careful Stark." Ross warned. "Trust me, you want to hear what I have to say."

"I doubt it." Tony rolled his eyes. "Now that the Accords business is resolved, I don't see what we have left to say to each other."

"That's what this is about."

"The Accords?" Tony clarified. "Because you must've missed the memo, that's resolved. Done. Finito."

"Nothing's been signed." Ross argued.

True. But…

"Only because they're still drawing up all the official paperwork. We'll all be down in DC to sign the final proposal on Monday." Tony explained as if Ross was a few cards short of a full deck. It didn't matter if it was currently signed or not. It would be soon. It was finished.

"You won't be signing that paperwork." Ross said confidently.

Tony scoffed. "I'm afraid you're wrong. I _will_ be signing along with all the other Avengers."

"No you won't." Ross said. "But you do have a choice."

"Uh huh and what choice is that?" Tony's patience was wearing thin. He wasn't in the mood to play games tonight.

"You can agree right now that you won't sign, and you and the rest of the Avengers will push for my original amendments, or I'll force your hand and the outcome will be the same. The only difference is the way you choose to go about it."

"Sorry but I think you're full of shit." Tony bit out. "The changes we came up with will be signed on Monday and there's nothing you can do about it."

"You're wrong Stark." Ross bit back, cool veneer he'd tried to portray finally cracking. "Like I said before, you'll beg me before this is over."

"Bring it on." Tony stayed flippant. He was confident there was absolutely no scenario in which he could imagine begging Ross for anything. There was no way in hell they wouldn't all be signing the changes they'd spent weeks working on into effect on Monday.

"So be it." Ross said gravely. "You're going regret this. More than you know."

"Doubt it." He thumbed the end call button before he was forced to hear any more of Ross's grandstanding.

"Asshole." He mumbled as he tossed his phone onto his bed and ran a hand through his hair.

He walked into his bathroom and showered the travel stink off and finished getting ready for bed. Before Peter, it wasn't uncommon for him to go to bed past 3:00AM or later, but it'd become more of a rarity since the kid had come into his life.

"FRIDAY, what's Peter doing?" He asked as he toweled his hair dry.

"Peter appears to be asleep in his bed." FRIDAY answered.

Tony hummed and tossed the towel into the hamper. Before he could second guess himself, he left his room and quietly snuck into Peter's. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room, but once they did, he saw his kid in bed under the covers, presumably asleep. The position he should've found him in when he'd come home hours earlier.

He walked as quietly as he could to the bed and looked down at his kid. Soft little snores emitted from him, confirming he was actually asleep and not faking. From the glow of the city outside the window Tony could make out the dried tear tracks that stained his kid's face. Given Peter's position and the way he was hugging his pillow, Tony figured he'd cried himself to sleep. His heart twisted at the image.

Tony sighed and softly brushed the hair back from his kid's forehead before bending over and dropping a feather light kiss there. Peter didn't stir, so Tony figured it was safe to lightly wipe the tear tracks away with the pad of his thumb. The space under his eyes was still moist.

Now that Peter was asleep, he didn't have to worry about keeping up a stern expression. He allowed the fondness to show on his face even though there was no one around to see it. He let himself treasure the sight of his son, safe and asleep. No matter how disobedient Peter had been, it didn't change the fact that Tony still loved him fiercely. Would always love him. No matter what.

The power and truth behind that thought stunned him. It was true. Peter could murder someone tomorrow and it wouldn't change the fact that Tony loved him. Not like that was something Tony had to worry about. Peter didn't have a cruel bone in his body.

"I love you kiddo." He whispered. Even though Peter wasn't awake to hear it, it made Tony feel better. "Always will."

He pulled the covers up from around Peter's waist to his chin and dropped another kiss on his forehead before silently padding back out of the room to his own bedroom.

He pushed back the covers of his own bed and crawled in. At least his heart felt a little lighter now. Maybe he could finally get some sleep.

* * *

A/N: I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this one too. I had a great time writing it. Let me know your thoughts! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within a week or so.


	24. Chapter 24

"Peter Parker, please come to the office. Peter Parker, to the office please." The school secretary's voice requested sweetly over the intercom.

Peter blinked and glanced over at Ned sitting next to him with a frown on his face. He sighed and stood, gathering his study materials in front of him and shoving them into his backpack. At least with whatever this was, he was only missing the end of his free study period.

"Are you in trouble?" Ned whispered.

"Not that I know of." He mumbled back, defeat clear in his voice. "But at this point, who knows?"

As soon as he'd made it to school that morning, he'd told Ned all about the fight that had transpired with his dad the night before.

Ned had but been horrified when he'd been told what had happened, but it had rapidly transformed into worry that Tony was going to execute him for his role in everything. Peter had tried to reassure him, but he wasn't sure how well it had worked. His friend had had a constipated look on his face all day.

"Do you think it's _you know who_?" Ned whispered.

"You can say his name, he's not Voldemort." Peter huffed as he shouldered his backpack. "But I doubt it. I don't think he wants to see me. He kind of hates me right now."

Ned narrowed his eyes at him but Peter ignored it and turned to go. Ned grabbed at his sleeve.

"You know he doesn't actually hate you right?" Ned asked earnestly.

Peter shook his head. "You didn't see him last night. I've never seen him so mad before."

"He might be mad right now but that doesn't mean he hates you. Me, on the other hand…" Ned gave him a wan smile.

Peter snorted. He wished he could believe Ned's words, but he hadn't told his friend he'd cried himself to sleep last night and then hadn't even seen Tony this morning. His dad had still been in bed when he'd left for school, which had stung. Not that Tony was always up in the mornings to see him off to school, but he usually made somewhat of an effort most days. Although to be fair, Peter had kept him up until the early hours of the morning last night…

"Mr. Parker." Mr. Harrington prompted from the front of the room. "Isn't there somewhere you need to be?"

"Um yeah. I'm going Mr. Harrington. Sorry." He said then turned back to Ned. "I've got to go. Text me later."

"Ok. Good luck."

Peter hurried out of the room. Truthfully, he had no idea why he was being called down to the office. He hadn't broken any rules or done anything that could've gotten him in trouble recently, and he really couldn't envision Tony showing up and asking for him. Their relationship was still tightly under wraps. He figured it could be Happy, but he still couldn't think of what would necessitate getting pulled out of school twenty minutes before the end of the day.

He pulled the office door open and there was no Tony or Happy in sight, just a blonde man dressed in a nice suit. Peter spared him a cursory glance before walking up the secretary's desk.

"Hi I'm Peter Parker. I was called down here?" He said and scratched the back of his neck when it started to tingle annoyingly.

"Ah yes Mr. Parker." The secretary smiled brightly at him. "There's someone here looking for you."

She gestured to the man in the suit who stood leaning against the wall behind him.

"Hi Peter, I'm Mike." The man held a hand out as he gave him a warm smile.

"Um hi. I'm Peter." He shook the offered hand, careful not to grip too hard.

"I know all about you." Mike said and released him. Peter didn't know why but he thought that sounded a little creepy.

"Y-you do?" What did this guy know exactly?

"You were on the Midtown decathlon team that won nationals last month." He said warmly.

"Yeah I was." Peter tried not to let the relief show on his face. He rubbed at his neck again as it continued to tingle. His spidey sense hadn't bothered him in weeks. He'd almost forgotten about it malfunctioning before. Maybe it had something to do with his anxiety and that was what was setting it off?

"Mr. Bauer is on the national decathlon committee." The secretary explained. "He's here to talk to you about your decathlon win and some different opportunities that are open to you because of it."

Peter blinked. That definitely wasn't something he'd been expecting.

Mike nodded. "That's right. Do you have some free time to talk?"

"Um sure, but don't you want to talk to the rest of the team too?" Peter's brow furrowed. "I didn't win it by myself."

Mike smiled warmly at him. "You're very modest. I watched the competition, and you're the one I wanted to talk to first. Your teammates will each get their turn."

"Oh." He said in surprise. The man did look kind of familiar. Maybe he had seen him in DC. "Ok."

"What do you say? Can I treat you to a cup of coffee and we can go over some scholarship opportunities?" Mike held up the manila folder he'd had tucked under his arm. It was stuffed full of papers.

"Oh I'm sorry Mr. Bauer but I need to call to get Peter's parents' permission first before you can take him off school grounds. It's school policy." The secretary interrupted.

"Of course." Mike nodded. "Go ahead."

The secretary typed at her computer and after a few seconds looked up at Peter in confusion. "Huh. Your file has a note in it. It says only Principal Morita has permission to contact your guardian. That's odd…"

Shit. He'd forgotten about that.

"Oh yeah sorry. I forgot that was in there. Um my dad's a little overprotective." Peter stumbled over the excuse. "Can you uh talk to Principal Morita?"

She shook her head. "He's in an important meeting right now."

Mike glanced over at the clock hanging on the office wall.

"There's only fifteen minutes left until school's out right?" Mike asked.

"That's right." The secretary answered.

"What's fifteen minutes?" He asked with another big smile as he held his hands out in front of him, palms up. "This is a great opportunity for Peter. I'd hate for him to miss out…"

Peter could see the secretary mentally debating it.

"Your dad wouldn't mind, would he?" Mike asked, aiming the question at him.

"No." He said even though that was probably a lie. Tony definitely wouldn't like it very much. Happy was supposed to pick him up after school and take him straight home, but Peter figured this was a reasonable enough excuse to get a little more freedom. Besides, it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

"The kid says his dad won't mind." Mike shrugged as he stared down the secretary.

"Oh all right." She caved. "School is almost over. Go ahead. I don't want to stand in the way of a scholarship for you."

"Thank you ma'am." Mike nodded toward her. "I can tell you really care about these kids."

The secretary blushed. "Oh you know I just try to do my part."

Mike smiled at her again and then looked over at Peter still smiling, "Come on Peter. I know this great coffee shop nearby. They make the best caramel macchiatos if you like those."

Peter nodded and gave Mike an answering smile. "I do."

"Good. Let's go." Mike said and led Peter out the door.

Peter followed him the short trek down the hallway and out the front door. He rubbed the back of his neck again, trying to calm the obnoxious buzzing there. As they walked outside, it ratcheted up. What the hell? Why was it acting up again now?

"Something wrong?" Mike asked, looking over at him in concern.

"No. It's nothing. I'm fine." Peter lied. "I think I slept funny on my neck last night."

"Let me take your bag." Mike offered, holding out a hand. "It might help."

"That's ok. You don't have to."

"It's no trouble. Really." He seemed so earnest about it, Peter submitted with a sigh.

"Ok." He handed him the heavy bag. "Um thanks."

"No problem." Mike smiled again as he slung it over his own shoulder and then joked, "Wow what do you have in this thing? Rocks?"

Peter chuckled. "It feels like it sometimes."

Mike led him down the steps toward a limo parked in front of the school.

"Wow." Peter said as soon as saw the limo. "Is that yours?"

"Yep." Mike said. "I like to travel in style."

As they got closer, Peter noticed the limo was partially parked in the fire lane, which was probably the reason why the man hadn't offered to stay and talk in the school instead.

When they were only a few feet away from the limo, his spider sense spiked to nearly painful levels. He reflexively glanced around but nothing seemed amiss. Even though they weren't on the best of terms right now, he knew he really needed to tell Tony about this once he got home. He'd promised he would, and this time seemed even more intense than when it had been going off randomly weeks ago.

"You all right?" Mike asked again, and Peter blushed when he realized he'd inadvertently stopped short.

"Yeah sorry." Peter swallowed hard and tried his best to ignore the warning going off.

"You don't have to be nervous." Mike tried to reassure him. "We're just going to talk and have some good coffee. Don't worry."

Peter tried to smile at the man but he knew it came out forced and wan.

Mike opened the back door of the limo and gestured for Peter to go first. "After you."

"Thanks." Peter mumbled, spider sense literally screaming at him. God it was terrible. He almost felt sick from it. If it didn't get better by the time they made it to the coffee shop he'd probably have to beg off and go home and just hope Mike would be willing to reschedule. He could say he was sick or something.

The door of the limo slammed closed behind him. Peter frowned. He'd expected Mike to crawl in after him, but maybe he wanted to go around to the other side to keep from inconveniencing Peter by making him slide over?

He watched as the man walked toward the front of the vehicle, and then he lost sight of him because of the opaque divider. Instead of getting in the backseat a second later like Peter expected, he heard Mike open the driver's door and get in. Mike was driving? He couldn't see the man because of the black divider up between them.

"Mike?" He called out in question. The man didn't respond and the next second the limo peeled away from the curb.

"Mike?" He tried again, knocking on the divider this time. Still no response. A bad feeling started to set in.

They weren't going all that fast yet, not too fast to jump out. Especially not as Spiderman. He grabbed the door handle and yanked. Nothing. It was locked. Shit. He slid across the back seat to the other door and tried that handle, but that door was locked as well. He didn't see any interior locks to flip open to unlock it.

He held the door handle and slammed his shoulder hard against the door to try to jar it open, but it didn't budge.

"Hey! Let me out! Let me out!" He yelled and banged on the divider as hard as he could. As hard as he could… It didn't leave so much as a chip.

His spider sense started screaming even louder.

The whole interaction with Mike and the earlier tingling of his spidey sense started to paint an entirely different picture. No. This couldn't be happening. Mike had seemed so nice and normal.

He laid down across the back seat, and settled his feet against the inside of the door's window. He bent his knees and then kicked out as hard as he could, using all his super strength. He felt the impact reverberate painfully from his feet through his knees, but the window didn't even crack. It had to be reinforced. Like the divider.

The entire inside of the limo must be reinforced. Which meant whoever had locked him in here, Mike or whatever his actual name was, had to know he was enhanced. Had to know he was Spiderman. Had maybe even been the one watching him, setting off his spider sense at school and when he was patrolling.

Which meant he was in big trouble.

A weird hissing sound he'd been half aware of ever since the door shut behind him, suddenly distracted him. It was barely audible with his enhanced hearing but the persistence of it was annoying and something about it made his heart race. It almost seemed like it was getting louder and like it was coming from all around him. He sat up and frantically glanced around the inside of the limo before he noticed four small nozzles, scattered in all four corners of the limo roof, emitting the noise.

It took an embarrassingly slow couple seconds to put it all together. Gas. His thoughts seemed to be getting slower and foggier. Oh this was bad. This was so bad.

He needed help. He needed…his phone. He patted his pockets. Empty. That's right, he'd put it in his backpack when he'd packed up all his stuff before going to the office. He looked around the back seat. Where was his backpack?

It struck him like lightning. He'd given it to Mike to carry. Mike had it in the front seat. Peter was locked in the back seat of a reinforced limo getting kidnapped and gassed and he'd willingly given his kidnapper his only hope for calling for help. He had absolutely no way to contact anyone.

The world spun around him and black specks danced in front of his eyes. His surroundings took on a surreal, distant quality. It barely registered when he crumpled sideways, half sitting and half lying across the back seat.

He blinked slowly. Everything seemed to be fading away.

This was not good. How could he have been so stupid? If he made it out of this, the Avengers would never let him live this down. He hadn't even put up a fight. Hadn't realized he needed to put up a fight. He'd walked directly into his own kidnapping like a lamb led to slaughter.

Tony was going to be so mad. It was the last conscious thought he had before everything finally went dark.

* * *

Tony twisted a bolt on the Ironman armor and grunted when the wrench slipped and he fell forward, nearly braining himself on the armor leg he was leaning against.

"Shit." He swore, frustration spiking. He threw the wrench away in anger. He'd had a short fuse all day after everything that had happened last night.

He'd been hiding out in his workshop ever since he woke up, avoiding everyone. He was still too upset to interact with anyone, and the thought of telling the Avengers what his kid had done filled with shame.

"What'd the wrench do to you?" Natasha asked, simultaneously portraying an uninterested yet amused air.

Tony tried not to get even more annoyed that he hadn't noticed her walk in. He didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he ignored her as he stood and walked over to where the wrench lay, picked it up, and went back to his armor.

"Is there something you need?" He asked impatiently when she made no move to leave but didn't start a conversation either.

"I just got off the phone with T'Challa." She said.

"And how is the royal kitty cat?" He asked as he bent over again and started working on tightening the ankle bolt.

"He's fine. He found out where the vibranium on that robot came from."

Tony shot up so fast in surprise, he accidentally smacked his head on the armor's outstretched arm.

"Ow." He held a hand to the top of his head and winced. "Fuck."

Natasha snorted. "You all right?"

"Fine." He said shortly, pulling his hand away and glancing at it. No blood. At least he hadn't split his scalp open. "You were saying?"

"Apparently a supply truck with vibranium was jumped just outside the borders of Wakanda a few months ago. T'Challa's people tracked the stolen vibranium to the black market. They managed to recover almost all of it, except for the stuff that coated our robot friend. They only just figured out who the buyer for it was. You're not going to like it." Nat reported.

"I'm not huh?" He asked and rubbed at his head a few more times. It still stung.

Nat pursed her lips.

"Who?"

"A man named Michael Bauer." She said and added without hesitating, "He works for Ross."

"Son of a bitch." Tony cursed. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "It checks out. I ran the paper trial, not that there was much of one."

"That bastard orchestrated the whole thing." Tony said, thinking out loud. "He sent that robot when he knew we were on probation. He probably purposely stalled the committee ahead of time, so he knew we'd have to get involved without their approval."

"My thoughts exactly." Nat nodded.

"Well joke's on him. Once we get enough hard evidence together, we can burn him for this."

Nat hummed in agreement.

"The only problem is I haven't been able to directly connect Ross to the vibranium. Only his lackey." She admitted.

"Yeah Michael…what was his name?"

"Michael Bauer."

Tony's frowned as he muttered, "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"If I may, boss?" FRIDAY interrupted. "Michael Bauer is the name of the guard that killed Toomes during a skirmish at the Raft."

Tony's frown deepened and suddenly it all came together to make a perfect kind of awful sense in his mind.

"Oh my god." He whispered, fingers involuntarily loosening. The wrench fell to the floor with a loud clank.

"What? Tony what?" Natasha asked, as visibly unsettled as he'd ever seen her, and suddenly she was right up in his face. When had she gotten so close? "Talk to me."

Ross's threat echoed ominously in his mind.

"Peter." Tony said urgently, snapping to focus on Nat's face.

"FRIDAY call Peter!" He ordered and started sprinting toward the elevator. "And take me to the common floor."

"Peter what? What's going on? Tony stop! Stop and explain." Nat said, running after him.

"Ross knows who Peter is!" He yelled as he got into the elevator with Nat a step behind. The doors closed behind them and it rocketed up.

"No answer boss." FRIDAY said quietly.

"Call him again." Tony ordered. "And keep calling him until he answers."

"What do you mean Ross knows who Peter is?" Nat asked as the elevator doors opened and deposited them on the common room floor. She grabbed his arm as he ran out of it. "Tony stop. Talk."

"Ross knows Peter's Spiderman!" He erupted.

"What?" Nat looked like Tony had slapped her. "How?"

"What's going on?" Steve's interjected as he walked over to them.

"Michael Bauer. The guy who bought the vibranium on the robot? The guy who works for Ross? He killed Toomes in the Raft! Toomes knew Peter was Spiderman! They must've killed him after he told them. To tie up the loose ends. And if Ross knows Peter's Spiderman, there's no way he didn't do enough digging to figure out I adopted him." His knees went weak as he came to another realization. He grabbed at Steve's arm.

"Whoa ok. Let's sit down." Steve said and helped him make it to the couch before lowering him down.

"That's why he sent the robot there. By Peter's school. He knew Peter would get involved. And he knew there was no way we'd wait." He mumbled.

"Shit." Clint swore. Tony was only half aware that there were several other Avengers in the room.

"I've tried Peter three times boss." FRIDAY interrupted. "No answer."

"What time is it?" He asked, then ordered without waiting for an answer. "Call Happy."

"It's three fifteen." Bruce answered before FRIDAY had a chance.

"Tony?" Happy's voice came from FRIDAY's speakers. He sounded annoyed. "Did you forget to tell me the kid had other plans today?"

"No. What are you talking about?" He snapped, too stressed to cushion his impatience. "Where's Peter? You were supposed to pick him up. He's supposed to be with you."

"I know he is." Happy said, obviously annoyed. "I'm here waiting at his school and he hasn't come out yet."

"Get in there and find him!" He yelled.

"What?" Happy seemed taken aback by the vehemence.

"I said find him! Get in the school and _find_ him Happy or I swear to god…"

"All right all right. I'm going. What's got your panties in a bunch?"

"Ross knows who Peter is."

"Fuck." Happy swore and Tony heard the sound of a car door slam in the background.

"Yeah fuck is right, so go get my kid and bring him home." Tony's voice shook. He couldn't help it. He was terrified and full of adrenaline. He just wanted Peter with him. He needed Peter to be there safe with him.

"I get it. I get it. Calm down. He does this all the time. I'll go find him." Happy said breathlessly, and Tony could tell he was running. "I'll call you when I have him."

The call ended abruptly.

"How did I miss this? How did I not see this?" He mumbled to himself and dropped his head in his hands.

He couldn't just sit there and wait. He pushed to a stand abruptly and started walking toward the balcony.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked, following a step behind him.

"I can't just wait around. I need to get to my kid." He growled, preparing to call the armor so he could fly to Peter's school.

"Wait." Steve grabbed his arm. "You can't. Stop and think about this for a second."

"There's nothing to think about. Peter's in trouble." He snarled and ripped his arm from Steve's grasp.

"We don't know that yet." Steve said calmly. "And if you fly in there, guns blazing, you're not only going to tip your hand to Ross, but you're going to risk everyone else finding out about you and Peter."

Tony tensed. He hated it but he knew Steve was right.

"Just wait." Steve continued, as if he was talking him down from a ledge. "Give Happy a chance to find him."

Tony clenched his fists at his sides. It was so hard to do nothing.

"Fine." He ground out and walked back over to the couch, but he was too agitated to sit down so he paced in front of it instead.

"Happy Hogan is calling boss." FRIDAY announced.

"Put him through." Tony ordered.

"Tony?" Happy's voice greeted a second later.

"Do you have my kid?" Tony asked sharply, in no mood to observe any social niceties.

"He's not here." Happy answered. "I talked to the office secretary. Apparently he left with some guy about fifteen minutes before school was let out. I must've just missed him because I pulled up here at like two fifty."

"A guy? What guy?" Tony demanded. Why was some stranger picking his kid up from school and why on earth would Peter go with him?

"Some decathalon committee person." Happy explained. "The secretary said he was going to take the kid out for coffee and talk about some scholarship stuff or something. I don't know."

Ok maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe it was all a terrible coincidence and Peter was fine. Although that still didn't explain why he wasn't answering his phone, unless he was still mad at Tony about last night and was being spiteful.

"She said his name was Mike something or other." Happy continued and Tony's stomach dropped.

"Bauer? Michael Bauer?" He asked, panic taking hold again.

"Uh yeah. How'd you know?"

Oh god oh god oh god. Ross had his kid. Ross had his kid. He couldn't catch his breath.

"I-I can't breath." He whispered. Steve grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

"He's going to have to call you back Happy." Steve said and made a hand motion in the air for FRIDAY to end the call.

His knees went weak again and he collapsed back onto the couch, not even caring how many Avengers were there to witness it.

"I can't breath." He said again, grabbing at his shirt collar. Ross had his kid. Peter. Oh god. Peter.

"Tony you're hyperventilating. You need to slow your breathing down." Bruce said, at some point he'd crouched in front of him. "You can't help Peter this way."

He tried to nod that he understood but it didn't matter. He couldn't seem to calm down.

"Here. Breathe with me." Bruce ordered and grabbed his hand and set it against his own chest. "In. And out. Don't think about anything else. Just focus on breathing. In. And out."

Tony tried to copy it.

"Good." Bruce encouraged. "That's better. Just keep breathing. In. And out."

When he'd finally gotten himself back under control a few long minutes later, the reality of the situation once again hit him like a sledgehammer.

Ross had his kid.

Ross was going to kill his kid.

"I'm going to be sick." He barely had the time to mumble the warning before he flung his head to the side. Somehow Clint managed to get the decorative bowl from the coffee table under his chin in time. He threw up everything he'd eaten that day into it, which luckily wasn't much.

"Easy." Steve said and Tony felt it when he placed a reassuring hand on the back of his neck. Nothing seemed easy right now. Peter could die. His absolutely amazing and wonderful kid could die. He gagged again.

"It's going to be ok." Steve mumbled. "We're going to get him back. You hear me Tony? We're going to get him back."

Tony spit and then wiped the back of his hand across his mouth once he was done.

Someone held a bottle of water out toward him and he took it, swishing it in his mouth and taking a few swallows to get the bitter acidic taste out of his mouth. He handed it back to them. To Nat, he noted distractedly.

He took a deep breath. He wanted to believe they'd get Peter back. Wanted to believe Steve when he said they'd be able to find Peter and save him. Because he was Captain America. But Tony knew better.

Instead of blindly believing the man's earlier reassurances, he turned wide stress ridden eyes toward Steve and asked, "How?"

* * *

A/N: And there you have it. Whew. The final culmination of all the sprinkled Ross plot hints over the last 24 chapters. The rest of the story is going to be pretty fast paced/action packed, which was so much fun to write. It's going to be 31 chapters total, so there's still seven left, and they'll all be posted before Endgame comes out as promised. They're all written but it just takes me awhile to finalize each one because I go over them ~4-5 times and the first couple times I rewrite a lot and then every time after I end up changing little things ever time (a piece of dialogue, a sentence structure issue, etc.) until I finally decide enough is enough. Like this chapter. I think I reread it and edited more than most of the other ones (like eight or nine time) and every time I found something I wasn't 100% happy with and ended up changing it. But it's been a week so I decided to stop torturing myself and post what i have. Let me know if it turned out ok! I really love reading all your comments! It makes all the time and effort I've put into this so much more worth it!


	25. Chapter 25

Peter's mouth was bone dry. Like he'd been lost in the desert. It was the first thing he noticed when a flicker of consciousness returned. The second thing he noticed was his uncomfortable position. He was sitting upright with his head hanging forward on his chest and he couldn't move his arms or legs. He was tied up.

His eyes snapped open.

"Hey boss, sleeping beauty's awake." A somewhat familiar voice said.

He squinted and tried to take stock of his surroundings. His head pounded in time with his heartbeat and the light bored into his skull. His stomach rolled unhappily. What had happened?

He caught sight of a blonde man sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, legs crossed and looking bored. Oh. That's right. That asshole had kidnapped him.

Peter looked down and saw he sat in a metal chair with his feet cuffed together and his wrists cuffed together behind the seat back. He used all his strength to try to tug his arms apart. The cuffs didn't break. They only ended up cutting into his wrists and making him wince in pain.

"Those cuffs are vibranium." A new voice from behind him stated. "Quite unbreakable. Even for you."

A grey haired man walked into his field of vision. "…Spiderman."

His stomach dropped. He thought about playing dumb or denying it, but he figured at this point it was useless.

He licked his lips, trying to create some kind of moisture, before he asked, "Who are you?"

"You don't know who I am?" The man chuckled and Peter wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off his face. "What are they teaching you kids in school these days?"

Peter's brow furrowed. He didn't get it.

"Really?" The man prompted as he stood a couple feet in front of Peter with his hands comfortably in his pockets. "You really don't know?"

Peter studied him for a few seconds. Maybe he looked sort of familiar but he couldn't place him. He shook his head.

"Hmm. I'm surprised Stark hasn't mentioned me. Or any of his other groupies." The man mused and the blonde guy in the corner of the room, who'd said his name was Mike, snorted in amusement.

"Maybe because you're only important in your own mind." Peter snarked.

"I can assure you that's not true." The man chuckled patronizingly again. "I'm the Secretary of State young man."

Peter's eyes widened. "You're General Ross."

"Ah so you have heard of me." The man smirked again and cocked his head to one side as he studied Peter.

A small spark of fear ignited within him. He didn't know the details of the recent Accords drama, but he knew enough to understand this was the man that wasn't afraid to go toe to toe with the Avengers.

"I know you're not a good guy." He added.

"And who told you that? The Avengers?" Ross sneered.

Peter lifted his chin up confidently in the air as he answered, "My dad."

"Your dad?" Ross frowned for a second before realization dawned in his eyes. "You mean Stark?"

Peter swallowed hard and didn't answer. Maybe he shouldn't have called Tony that in front of Ross.

"That's cute. You call him dad." Ross smirked then added ominously, "Good."

His heart started pounding at the predatory look Ross gave him, like he was a piece of meat waiting to be seasoned and roasted up.

Peter narrowed his eyes at the man, trying to make it evident how much he detested him.

"What do you want from me?" He asked, glad the question came out strong instead of shaky like he felt.

"And I thought you were supposed to be smart." Ross arched an eyebrow at him before answering, " _From_ you? Nothing. You're leverage."

Peter kept glaring.

"So far, Stark and his groupies have refused to agree to my new terms for the Accords, but this way, now that I have you, they'll have no choice."

Peter scoffed. "Yeah right."

"No? You don't think so?" Ross asked. "Not even to save your life?"

"They'd probably be glad to be rid of me. I'm just some annoying kid they feel obligated to keep around." Peter bluffed, even though it hurt to say the words. A small secret part of him worried they might hold a semblance of truth, especially after how furious Tony had been with the whole hacking FRIDAY incident. What if his dad decided he was more trouble than he was worth and didn't want him anymore? What if they actually left him here with this psycho?

"Nice try. I could almost believe you if I hadn't done my research, if I hadn't had Mike watching you for the past month." Ross said, confirming Peter's theory that his spider sense had been tingling over the past month for that exact reason.

"That's creepy." Peter interjected.

"And if I hadn't seen that the Avengers didn't even hesitate to violate their probation to save you when I released that robot right outside your school." Ross continued. "That makes me think they'll do whatever I ask to get you back."

"You sent the robot?" Peter asked in surprise.

"I did. But it almost backfired on me. It was only supposed to put you in enough danger to get the Avengers in the field before committee approval. It wasn't supposed to come so close to actually killing you. The covalent coating I put on it, the one that repels your webs, the one I had my scientists specially figure out, might have been a bit too much. I almost lost my biggest bargaining chip…but it seems like it all worked out in the end." Ross said with a shrug and another disturbing smile.

"You're crazy." Peter accused.

"I'm just a man that's not afraid to do what needs to be done for the greater good." Ross said haughtily.

"This isn't for the greater good." Peter argued.

"It is. I wouldn't expect you to know about it, being a child and all-"

"A child you kidnapped." Peter interrupted, not enjoying referring to himself as a child, but willing to try whatever it took to get free, even if it meant appealing to whatever shred of humanity that might remain in a man like Ross.

"-but the Accords are vital for maintaining the safety of the American people and the world." Ross continued, completely ignoring Peter's comment. "The _Avengers_ think they know better than us, better than the people trained to make these decisions. They think they should get to decide when and where to intervene and they don't care about who gets hurt or what gets destroyed in the process."

"That's not true." Peter denied.

"It is." Ross insisted. "You just don't know any better."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure it doesn't take a genius to see that what you're doing right now is way worse than anything the Avengers have ever done."

"You're wrong." Ross dismissed him. "And it's not even worth arguing with you about it. They already have you brainwashed."

"I'm not brainwashed. And you're going to be sorry you took me." Peter threatened, righteous anger lending fire to the words. "They're not called the Avengers for nothing."

"We'll see." Ross said, obviously not worried or intimidated by the fact that the Avengers would be after him.

Ross took a few steps back before turning toward Mike. The blonde man had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. Peter had almost forgotten he was there.

"Rough him up a little." Ross ordered. "I don't want his face to be too pretty when Stark calls. He might need a little motivation."

"You got it boss." Mike smiled and cracked his knuckles as he made his way toward Peter.

Peter steeled himself for what was coming but figured it couldn't be too bad. A baseline human couldn't do any real damage to him with his bare fists.

Almost as if he heard that exact thought, Mike pulled out a pair of iron knuckles from his pockets and put them on. Ok not as good. Peter swallowed hard and tried to crane away as Mike ambled in closer.

As Ross watched, Mike stopped right in front of him and pulled his fist back. Peter's spider sense flared, anticipating the blow, but there was nowhere for him to go. The hit landed square on his left cheek and his head snapped to the right. Ow. Shit. He couldn't help the small surprised gasp that escaped. That had hurt. Was this guy enhanced or just perfectly trained in throwing a punch?

"Sorry kid." Ross said, looking anything but sorry. Peter hated hearing one of his favorite nicknames come from the asshole's lips. "It's nothing personal."

It sure as hell felt personal.

The Mike guy drew back again and landed another blow, this time to his right jaw. One of his teeth cut into inside of his cheek and his mouth instantly filled with blood. Ouch. Instead of swallowing it, Peter spat it right back out into Mike's face, much to the amusement of Ross who let out a surprised laugh. Mike paused to wipe the blood from his face with a disgusted look before turning furious eyes back on Peter.

"I'll give it to you kid. You've got spunk." Ross said and then walked out of the empty room before Peter had a chance to say anything back.

Mike's next punch landed right in his solarplex and his chest seized up and he couldn't breathe for a few long seconds. Then the blows rained down and Mike proceeded to beat the living crap out of him.

He had no choice but to admit that purposefully antagonizing the man might have been a slight error in judgment.

He couldn't move. He had no chance to evade. And it _hurt_.

He tried to stay strong, but he wanted to go home.

He wanted his dad.

* * *

"We'll figure it out together. We beat him once. We can do it again." Steve said, answering Tony's question of how they'd get Peter back. "He's not as smart as he thinks he is. That's his weakness. We all just need to put our heads together."

"Steve's right. Tony, stop panicking and _think_." Natasha said as she stepped forward to kneel in front of him. "You need to pull yourself together if we're going to save Peter."

The tough love was exactly what he needed.

"Ok. Right. Ok." He mumbled to himself and tried to do what Natasha said, and think. He closed his eyes and took a few centering breaths. He could do this. What did he need to do first?

"FRIDAY." He said suddenly as the thought came to him. "Track Peter's phone."

"Yes boss." FRIDAY acknowledged and then seconds later added, "Peter's phone is currently located in an alley in Midtown. According to my records, it has remained at this location since 3:07PM."

"They dumped it." Clint said.

"Of course they did." Natasha said a second later. "But we still need to check it out."

"Yeah." Clint agreed.

"You two go. Let us know what you find." Steve said, taking command of the situation.

"I'm going too." Tony said abruptly as he stood.

"No Tony." Steve grabbed his shoulder. "You should stay."

"I'm not staying." He said coldly and shrugged Steve's hand off. "My kid's in trouble."

Steve stared at him for a couple beats before he gave in with a soft sigh. "Fine. We'll all go then."

"Damn right." Clint nodded and everyone in the room, which included Tony, Steve, Nat, Clint, and Bruce, headed down to the garage.

The drive to the location took place in tense, stilted silence. When they arrived, Clint and Natasha were somehow the first ones out, sprinting into the desolate alley. Tony was right behind them. They didn't find Peter, not that he'd realistically expected to, but they found Peter's backpack lying next to a dumpster.

Nat picked it up and cursorily looked it over before she handed it to Tony. At least there wasn't any outward evidence on it that Peter had been harmed. No blood or rips. No evidence of a struggle. Tony wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

He opened it and rifled through it. It was heavy, filled with his kid's textbooks and notebooks. He found Peter's phone wedged in the front zipper pocket.

"Shit." Tony swore. He had no other way of tracking the kid. He took a few panicked breaths. He had no way of finding his son. Why had he never considered this scenario before? He should've thought of something in advance. Should've planned for this. Should've had some kind of back up tracker on him.

"Now what?" Clint asked what they were all thinking.

Tony's brain remained frozen as he clutched his son's backpack in front of him like it was something precious. God, he couldn't think. He could barely keep from falling apart.

"We need to get back to the Tower." Nat said. "One of the city cameras might've caught the license plate from here. If we can figure that out, we might be able to track the vehicle and figure out where they took him."

That…was actually a great idea. Tony couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it. Apparently the whole emotionally comprised thing was really a thing.

They climbed back into the car. Tony hugged Peter's backpack against his chest, wishing it was his actual kid instead of some inanimate object.

"We need to get the rest of the team together." Steve said as they drove back to the Tower. They were in Tony's Audi, but they hadn't let him drive. Nat sat in the driver's seat, Clint next to her with Steve and Bruce sandwiching Tony between them in the back.

"Shouldn't be too hard." Clint said. "I think everyone's at the Tower for once."

"And we need to figure why Ross would take Peter. What he wants with him." Steve said, thinking out loud.

"I know what he wants." Tony mumbled, still only half listening to the conversation around him as he stared numbly at Peter's backpack.

"What?" Bruce asked, eyes wide behind his glasses.

"He called me last night and threatened me. He knew that we'd come to an agreement with the UN and that we were set to sign on Monday." Tony recited the facts in an uncharacteristic monotone. "He said I'd be sorry if we didn't chuck the new amendments and agree to his proposed changes instead. I blew him off. I thought he was full of shit. I didn't think… I didn't know he knew who Peter was… I didn't know he knew about Peter at all or I would've…"

He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. Why hadn't he made that connection? Why hadn't he even considered the possibility that Ross's threat could've had something to do with his son?

"Don't beat yourself up Tony. None of us knew." Steve tried to comfort him, giving his shoulder a bolstering squeeze. "None of us could've anticipated this."

"I should've." Tony said scathingly. Besides the gut churning worry for Peter, there was a spark of self hatred. That was his job as a father. To anticipate things like this. To keep Peter safe. And he'd failed. He hadn't kept his kid safe. He'd let him get snatched.

He'd been messing up left and right lately. First, Peter had been beaten nearly to death by a robot, one that Ross had apparently sent. And then he hadn't even realized his kid had hacked his AI and had been sneaking out under his nose to be Spiderman. And boy had he yelled at him for it. His breath caught. What if that conversation ended up being last thing he ever said to his son? Oh god. He really was a horrible father.

"No. Ross is crazy." Bruce added from his other side. "That's not your fault."

Tony scoffed and tugged as his hair in frustration. "I let some psycho grab my kid. How is that not my fault?"

"It's not Tony." Bruce insisted. "And we're going to figure it out. We're going to get Peter back."

Tony wished he had his friend's confidence.

"And when we do, that fucker's going to pay." Clint added from the front seat. "I call dibs."

"Not if I get to him first." Nat said.

"If he harms one hair on my kid's head, _I'm_ going to kill him." Tony stated as a matter of fact. He would too. With no guilt or regret.

"As long as you don't make it too quick." Clint said. "Make sure he suffers first."

He expected Steve to reprimand them or to say they couldn't actually kill the man, but he stayed conspicuously silent.

A heavy silence settled in the car. Tony stared out the window as they drove the rest of the way back to the Tower. He tried to focus on the cityscape out the window instead of dwelling on all the terrible possibilities that could result from Ross having his kid.

It didn't work.

* * *

"I can't believe we have nothing else to go on." Clint complained in frustration.

FRIDAY had hacked into the city's surveillance system but they'd still ended up with nothing. They'd only been able to get a partial of the limo's plate, not enough to go on. Even so, they'd managed to track the limo through the streets until it'd left the city limits, but then there hadn't been enough cameras to follow its path and they'd lost it.

They'd hit a dead end.

"Dammit." Tony swore.

"Now what do we do?" Scott asked. He'd been particularly sympathetic since he had his own kid and could empathize with what Tony was going through.

The Avengers looked at each other from where they all stood gathered in Tony's workshop, holograms with various information littered throughout the air between them.

"Now we need a plan B." Rhodey suggested.

"Yeah?" Tony snapped at his friend, suddenly irrationally angry. "And what's that going to be? Huh? Should we try to snap our heels together three times and hope we get magically teleported to Peter?"

"It will do us no good to fight amongst ourselves." Vision reminded them diplomatically.

Tony let out a puff of air and ran a hand through his hair in agitation. He knew Vision was right but he couldn't help but feel frustrated at their inability to find his kid. His intense worry had manifested with a hair trigger temper.

"I hate to say it but I think you need to call Ross." Steve said with his own sigh.

"And how's that going to help us?" Tony asked angrily.

"Maybe he'll slip up and say something we can use to find Peter. At this point, it can't hurt. We have nothing else to go on." Steve explained.

"I don't know." Nat added her two cents. "If we call him, the ball's in his court. Right now he doesn't know that we know he has Peter. It gives us an advantage."

"An advantage we could use if we actually knew something, but we don't." Clint argued.

"And what's calling him going to give us? Nothing." Nat said. "We know what he wants and we can't agree to it."

"Can't we?" Rhodey said.

They all looked at him in disbelief. To be fair, it was a solution even Tony himself hadn't voiced.

"What?" Rhodey scoffed at them. "You think if there's no other option I wouldn't be wiling to give up some of our autonomy if it means saving Peter? Because I would."

Tony swallowed hard. He would too of course, but it was a sentiment he didn't think the other Avengers would share.

"You're right, but that's our worst case scenario." Steve said with a nod.

Really? Tony's worst case scenario was not getting Peter back at all.

"But we're all agreed, if it's a choice between getting Peter back safely or defying Ross, we choose Peter." Rhodey said.

"Of course."

"Yeah."

"No shit."

The soft chorus of agreements echoed around the room, and Tony felt his heart swell at what his team was willing to do for his son. To give up for his son.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Wanda said and they all nodded.

"Ok." Tony said slightly breathlessly. "So I'm calling him?"

"Call him." Steve agreed in his command voice, and Tony pulled his phone out with a nervous exhale.

He didn't actually have Ross's personal number but he had the number for his secretary. He eyed the screen for a long few seconds before typing in the number.

"FRIDAY, once I'm connected to Ross, try to trace the call." He ordered as the phone started ringing.

"Of course boss." FRIDAY responded.

A man answered on the second ring. "Secretary Ross's office. This is Andrew speaking."

"Yeah this is Tony Stark. I need to talk to Ross." Tony snapped.

"Ah yes Mr. Stark, the Secretary has been expecting your call." The man said cheerily, not at all affected by Tony's obvious anger. "Please hold for a moment while I forward you to his personal phone."

Tony clenched his jaw and waited as the phone started ringing.

"Stark." Ross greeted and Tony could hear the undisguised glee in his voice. "I have to admit, you're calling me earlier than I expected."

"You took something of mine and I'd like him back." Tony said.

Ross hummed. "I warned you, didn't I? You chose not to listen, so now this is the way it has to be."

"This isn't a joke." Tony ground out. "Give me the kid back."

" _The_ kid? Don't you mean _your_ kid?" Ross taunted. "I think I heard him calling for his dad earlier. That's _you_ , isn't it?"

Tony paled at that image even though he was sure Ross was bluffing.

"I swear to god if you've hurt one hair on his head, I'm going to kill you."

Ross chuckled. "I don't think you're really in the position to be making threats Tony. Remember, I have your son."

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want. You and the Avengers need to agree to my proposals. Once it's official, you'll get your kid back." Ross said.

"I want to talk to him." Tony demanded.

"I'll do one better. I'll let you see him." Ross offered and a second later his phone was asking his approval to switch to video mode. He thumbed the button to accept it even though he wasn't sure yet why Ross was letting him see Peter.

The video of Ross on the other end shook and Tony could tell he was walking somewhere. The sound of door opening transmitted over the speaker and then Ross was talking, but not to Tony, "I have someone here that wants to talk to you. Say hi to dear old dad."

The screen flipped and then Tony laid eyes on his kid restrained in a chair.

"D-dad." Peter stuttered and Tony had never experienced such fiery rage and icy fear simultaneously before. His son's left eye was bruised and swollen and a trickle of blood ran out both nostrils and down the corner of his mouth. And that was only what he could see. Someone had obviously beat him up, probably while he was tied to the chair and unable to defend himself.

"Hey buddy." Tony said calmly even though inside he was anything but. He needed to do whatever he could to reassure his kid. "You doing all right?"

"Y-yeah I'm ok. Don't worry about me." Peter tried to be strong but the slight tremor in his voice gave him away. Tony could tell he was scared.

"Hey I want you to listen to me. Everything's going to be all right, ok?" Tony said.

"Ok." Peter whispered back but Tony didn't think he believed him.

"You'll be home soon. I promise."

Peter nodded then asked him with wide eyes, "A-are you mad?"

"Not at you kiddo."

"I-I'm sorry for getting grabbed." Peter mumbled miserably. God this kid would be the death of him. Here he was bleeding and captured and he was apologizing when it was Tony's fault for not keeping him safe.

"No don't apologize for that. It's not your fault. There's nothing for you to be sorry for. And it's going to be ok. I promise. Do you believe me?" Tony said.

"Y-yeah I believe you." Peter nodded, then continued, "But just in case…I want you to know I…I really am sorry about the whole s-sneaking out thing."

"I know buddy. It's ok. I forgive you. Don't worry about that right now. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later." Tony reassured.

"This has been touching and all," Ross drawled, interrupting them, "but it's time to say good-bye. Daddy and I need to finish discussing our terms."

Ross switched the phone back to audio only before Peter or Tony had a chance to say anything else.

"You know my terms Stark." Ross said. "If you want your kid back in one piece I suggest you get to work."

Now that he knew Peter couldn't hear him, Tony lost it. "You piece of shit! I'm going to fucking kill you! You're a dead man! You hear me? A dead man!"

"You have 24 hours." Ross said, unphased by the outburst.

"Are you kidding me? 24 hours? It's Friday night. Even if I wanted to, there's no way I could get all the key people together to get the Accords changed in that timeframe."

"You're Tony Stark. I'm sure you can figure it out." Ross countered. "And you better, for your kid's sake."

Ross hung up with that warning, so Tony didn't get a chance to further scream out his frustration at him.

"Fuck." He spat as the line disconnected. He stared at his phone as if it somehow held the key to finding Peter.

"Unable to trace the call boss." Even FRIDAY sounded sad.

No one said anything. Tony glanced around and saw his own emotions reflected on the faces of his teammates. Anger, fear, uncertainty.

"So now what do we do?" Sam was the one that finally broke the heavy silence.

No one had the answer.

* * *

Peter shivered. He was still stuck in the hard metal chair in nothing but jeans and a t-shirt, and whatever type of building he was in clearly didn't have adequate heating. His surroundings didn't do any better of a job at helping him feel cozy. The windowless room he was stuck in was fairly well sized with bare walls and a cement floor. If he had to guess, he'd bet he was in some sort of underground bunker. Or maybe some interior room of a warehouse. The memory of Toomes causing a building to crash on top of him suddenly surfaced. He closed his eyes and gave his head a little shake. Stupid stupid. Don't think about warehouses right now.

His body gave another shiver, partially from the added adrenaline of the memory and partially from the cold.

"Come on Spiderman." He mumbled to himself in agitation before he took a bolstering breath and used all his strength to jerk at his cuffed hands. It was probably the hundredth time he'd tried it and his wrists burned from all the self abuse. Like all the other times before, the cuffs stayed firmly locked in place. He let out a small frustrated growl. At least no one was around to hear it. Ross and his lackey had left shorty after Tony's phone call and they hadn't come back since.

He thought it'd been several hours since they'd left but it might've just seemed that long because of the boredom and discomfort. The cold, along with the distracting throbbing of his body from his impromptu beating, made it hard to focus and keep an accurate track of time.

He vaguely wondered if the two men planned to come back at all or if he'd be stuck here alone until Tony did what Ross wanted. He wasn't sure if being left alone would be better or worse. Probably better, but he'd kind of hoped they'd let him out of this stupid chair at some point so he could get a little more comfortable and maybe lay down.

But right now it didn't look like that was going to happen. Good thing he didn't have to pee. Although now that he thought about it, he'd definitely been here for hours and Ross hadn't given him anything to drink. Or eat. He was kind of hungry, and the slight thick headedness he'd attributed to getting smacked around was more likely from the lack of nutrients. Crap. He wondered if Ross had any plans to feed or water him. He scoffed. Probably not. Great. That would make escape that much harder. Not that he had any wonderful ideas on that front at the moment anyway.

He licked his lips as another shiver ran through him. What would Tony do? Not just sit around and wait helplessly for someone else to rescue him. He'd think of something.

"Think Peter. Think." He whispered to himself as he looked around the room, trying to think of something. Anything. His mind drew a blank like all the other times he'd tried to come up with something. He couldn't even get the chair to budge. It seemed to be anchored into the ground, probably with vibranium if Peter couldn't move it. He wondered how Ross had gotten so much of the supposedly impossible to obtain element. Regardless, he was definitely good and stuck at the moment.

So, if his dad were in this position, what would he do? Peter sighed. Probably bide his time and wait for an opportune moment. Or, more realistically, he'd probably already have some hidden tech on him that would help him get free. Peter wasn't so lucky. He didn't even have any spare change in his pockets.

It almost hurt to think about Tony, he ached for him so badly. He couldn't believe he'd screwed up again and let himself get nabbed so soon after disappointing his dad by sneaking out. But at least Tony hadn't seemed too mad when they'd talked. Worried, but not mad. Peter wondered if that would change if he got him back. _When_ he got him back. Because his dad was Tony Stark. Ironman. There was no way he wouldn't kick this Ross guy's ass.

He just hoped his dad would hurry it up. His position wasn't all that comfortable and Ross and his thug made him anxious. He wasn't sure what they'd do to him, since they clearly had no qualms about kidnapping him for blackmail.

He really wanted to go home. He didn't even care that he was super grounded. Once he got back, he didn't think he'd have any desire to leave the Tower anytime soon anyway.

He shifted around in the chair to try to find a more comfortable position to close his eyes. Maybe if he could sleep, the time would pass faster, and when he woke up, Tony would be there and this would all be in the past like some bad dream.

Time continued to pass, but between the uncomfortable position, the cold, his aching body, his hunger, and his thirst, he couldn't fall asleep. He tried letting his head hang, craning it back, resting it on his shoulder, but nothing worked. Whenever he was exhausted enough to just about drift off, something would awaken him. The cold, or his stomach, or a painful twinge.

He groaned in frustration as his head jerked up again when a whole body shudder ran through him. It had to almost be morning by now, but he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He guessed he could add sleep deprivation to his list of tortures from his captors. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so miserable.

He kept trying to sleep in vain as time kept ticking away.

Several hours later, he'd almost finally nodded off when his stomach growled loudly. He opened his eyes with a defeated sigh. Based on the gaping pit in his stomach, he guessed it had to be well after lunch time. Ross still hadn't been back, and Peter hadn't been presented with any opportunities for escape. Occasional shivers had long ago turned into constant trembling from the cold. Man, he'd love a blanket right about now. Or food. Or some water. Or a rescue. A rescue would be great.

Where was his dad?

* * *

A/N: Thanks you so much again for all your amazing reviews! Let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	26. Chapter 26

At some point Peter must've eventually fallen asleep, because the slam of a door snapped him awake. He blinked gritty eyes and tried to reorient himself. Based on how he felt, still muddled from exhaustion, he guessed he couldn't have been out for more than a couple hours.

His head spun and pounded and his tongue felt thick and sticky in his mouth. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink since lunch at school the day before.

"Apparently Stark doesn't care about you as much as I thought." Ross growled as he walked over to him. He looked pissed. His lackey had a small smirk on his face. Peter had a bad feeling about this.

"Huh?" He frowned. The words hadn't quite sunk in. His mental fuzziness definitely wasn't going to do him any favors when it came to figuring out an escape plan.

"I've given him over 24 hours and as far as I can tell, he hasn't lifted a single finger to do what I asked." Ross said.

"Oh." Peter's face fell. He tried to stifle the hurt. Maybe the Accords _were_ more important than him. He guessed that made sense. He was just some stupid kid. The Avengers and the Accords governing them were crucially important to the world. What did he expect?

"Clearly your _father_ ," Ross spat the moniker like a dirty word, "needs more incentive to comply."

Well, that didn't sound good.

As he watched, Mike came closer, still smirking as he pulled a handgun out and checked that the clip was full before replacing it with a wink at Peter.

Peter swallowed hard as his heart picked up its pace. He tried tugging on his restraints again without making it obvious, but he was still stuck.

"So let's see what we can do to motivate him. And no talking for you this time." Ross said and Mike moved to tie a white strip of cloth around his mouth.

He tried to jerk his head away to make it more difficult, but when he did, the man cold cocked him with the butt of the gun so hard he saw stars. Once everything evened back out again, the gag was tied tight and he felt even more sick and dizzy. Damn. He took a few deep breaths through his nose to quell the nausea. He couldn't puke now or he might end up choking to death.

"Ready?" Ross asked, but the question was aimed at Mike, not him.

"Ready boss." Mike answered with an eager, toothy grin from where he stood directly on Peter's right side, gun still in hand.

"Time to call daddy dearest." Ross said and then dialed a number on his phone.

"For your sake, you better hope he cares about what happens to you kid." Ross warned him as he brought the phone to his ear.

If someone had asked Peter if he thought Tony cared about him a few days ago he would've answered with complete confidence. Of course. But now, he wasn't as sure. If his dad cared, why was he still stuck here? Why had he just left him with Ross? Maybe this was his punishment for sneaking out or for getting caught in the first place? Maybe he was supposed to learn some kind of lesson?

He couldn't imagine his dad doing that, but he also couldn't imagine his dad leaving him with Ross for this long either. And yet here he was, still tied to a chair.

Even though it was selfish, he really hoped his dad wasn't abandoning him in favor of the Accords.

* * *

Tony ran a hand through his greasy locks. He hadn't had a chance to shower since Ross had called. He'd managed to catch a short catnap when he'd passed out around seven in the morning but as soon as he'd woken up, he'd been back at it.

FRIDAY hadn't been able to trace the call he'd made to Ross, but she'd recorded the entire conversation. One of his teammates, Tony's sleep addled brain couldn't remember which one, maybe Scott, had been quick to suggest showing the video to the Accords committee or the president as a solution. And for a brief moment Tony had thought maybe that would work, but then Rhodey had pointed out that all Ross had to do was deny and it and claim Tony had manufactured the video and it'd become a he said she said they didn't have time for.

Sam had argued they should do it anyway if there was a possibility it could work. But then Bruce had shot back and said that even if they used the video on the slim chance it would deliver Peter safely back to them, there was no way the Accords committee and the president wouldn't find out about his connection to Tony and that he was Spiderman, and wasn't that a huge risk in and of itself? Did they really want to do that if there was any other way?

The argument devolved from there with everyone talking over one another to give their two cents. But the end of the dispute happened when Clint reasoned that if they exposed the blackmail, the most likely outcome was that Ross would give up on his pursuit to get his amendments passed, but he'd also probably be quick to kill Peter out of spite and to get rid of any possible evidence that might jeopardize his career. Was exposing the video and Ross's treachery really worth the risk of losing Peter?

The resounding answer had been no. So with that avenue closed to them, all the Avengers had been combing through any leads they could to try to figure out where Ross had taken Peter. They'd gone through phone records, bank records, further scoured New York traffic cameras. They'd done everything they could think of, but so far they'd had no luck, and they'd almost reached Ross's deadline.

Tony glanced up at the clock in his workshop. Shit. They were five minutes past his deadline. He was surprised the man hadn't called him yet. A second later Tony's phone started ringing as if the mere thought of the man had magically conjured him.

"Guys." He called out, not answering yet as he waited for the Avengers to gather back around him from where they were scattered throughout the workshop running their separate leads.

"FRIDAY try to trace the call again." He ordered even though he knew it would probably be pointless since it hadn't worked any of the other times.

Once everyone was close enough, he put the phone on speaker, pressed the answer button, and greeted curtly. "Stark."

"You haven't done what I asked Stark." Ross said.

"I told you it wasn't possible to get what you wanted done in 24 hours." He argued. It wasn't true. If he'd needed to, he could've made it happen, but Ross didn't know that.

"I don't think you quite appreciate the gravity of your son's situation." Ross bit out.

"I'm working on it." He lied. "It's just taking some time."

"I don't believe you." Ross said. "I think you've been stalling, trying to buy time to find him yourself."

"No." He denied even though Ross was spot on.

"Well time's up." Ross growled. "I was generous enough to give you 24 hours and you wasted them."

"I told you I—" He started but Ross cut him off.

"Really, it's my fault." Ross said. "I obviously haven't given you enough incentive. So let's fix that, shall we?"

A cold chill ran down his spine at the threat. The next moment the phone switched to video mode and an image of Peter tied to the chair projected onto the screen. A blonde man stood at his side, and after a couple seconds he recognized him as the Michael Bauer guy they knew had been working for Ross.

And he was holding a gun.

Tony's breath caught.

"I think I need to prove to you that I'm not bluffing." Ross continued and the next moment the man held the gun to Peter's temple.

"No!" The protest was automatic, involuntary really, at seeing his son's life in danger.

"Because I'll do it Stark. I'll kill him. Don't think I won't." Ross said calmly as if he was discussing the weather instead of executing his kid.

Mike grabbed a handful of Peter's hair to hold his head still as he twisted the barrel of the gun harshly against his temple. Peter winced. Oh god oh god. If the guy's finger so much as slipped, Peter would be gone. His son would be gone.

"Stop!" He yelled, cold terror washing over him. "Please! Please just stop. I'll do-I'll do anything you want. Whatever you want. Just stop! Stop pointing the gun at him. Please!"

Another eternity of a second passed before Ross must've given some signal and the man finally dropped the gun and gave Peter's head a rough shove as he released his hair.

"I told you you'd be begging me by the end." Ross said with a sick sense of satisfaction.

Tony wanted nothing more than to curse him, threaten him, promise to kill him, but he couldn't, not when the risk of his words was getting a gun held to his kid's head. Since he couldn't see Ross, he settled for glaring at his lackey in silence. That guy was dead too.

"So should I take this to mean you're actually going to deliver now?" Ross taunted.

"Yes." Tony grit out. And he would. If he had to.

"Good." Ross said happily. "But just in case you start getting any more smart ideas about defying me…"

Before Tony even had a chance to blink, Mike's hand with the gun jerked and a shot rang out as he emptied a bullet into Peter's right upper leg.

"No!" Tony cried out in horror.

Peter obviously hadn't been expecting it. He let out a surprised grunt and doubled over as far as he could while tied up in the chair.

"That's got to hurt." Ross said with fake sympathy.

"Peter!" Tony yelled, but his son stayed doubled over.

Mike grabbed Peter's hair and yanked him back up to a sitting position. Tony could see his face was scrunched in pain but he didn't make any other noise.

"He's a tough kid Stark. I'll give you that." Ross said, obviously impressed by Peter's attempted stoicism.

Mike scowled, not happy with the lack of response, so he kicked out, roughly jostling Peter's injured leg.

Peter couldn't hold back a cry of pain at that. No one reasonably could, but hearing it come from his son sent a dagger to his heart.

Mike nudged Peter's injured leg with his foot over and over again, making Peter shout in pain.

"Stop! Stop it!" Tony yelled. "Stop hurting him!"

Even though all the sounds were partially muffled by the gag, Tony caught the exact moment Peter's cries of pain turned into actual crying. Apparently so could Ross.

"There we go." Ross said with approval. "There are some tears for dad."

"I'm going to fucking kill you. I swear to god." Tony threatened, too angry to hold himself back.

Mike gave Peter's leg another kick at the threat, harder than all the rest, and Peter cried out in agony.

"Now now Tony. I wouldn't be threatening me if I were you. I'd hate for something worse to happen to young Peter here." Ross chastised. "It looks like this time it missed his kneecap, but he might not be so lucky next time. I'm not sure if even Spiderman could heal from that. I'd hate for a child filled with such potential to have to live out the rest of his life as a cripple. Or to not live out the rest of his life at all..."

Tony clenched his jaw so tight he thought his teeth might crack.

"Let's just say it'd behoove you to get my changes signed like I asked." Ross said. "You have until eight AM tomorrow morning. Tick tock Stark."

The projection of Peter went blank as Ross hung up.

Tony stood half gaping in shock with his eyes burning. He couldn't quite believe what he'd just witnessed.

"All right so we give in to Ross's demands." Clint said quietly, his own anger and fear apparent. "We're not risking Peter's life."

"I'll call Senator Matthews." Tony mumbled and noticed that fine tremors ran through the hand that held his phone.

"Wait." Nat ordered suddenly, then as she thought to herself, she whispered again, "Wait."

"What? You have an idea?" Cap asked with hope.

Nat frowned. "We've been going about this all wrong."

"No shit. In case you missed it pipsqueak just got shot." Sam said.

"I _mean_ we've been going after Ross, but he's too good at covering his tracks. But now that we know that Bauer guy's there too, maybe we can use _him_ to figure out where they are. Maybe _he_ slipped up somewhere." Nat explained.

Tony considered it for a moment. That could actually work.

"FRIDAY pull up everything you can on Michael Bauer." Tony ordered. "I want work records, credit card statements, the works."

"Yes boss."

"Ok, but if we don't have a location in the next two hours, we're calling the Senator." Steve said.

"Agreed." Tony nodded. He'd prefer to rescue Peter, but if that wasn't an option, he'd do what Ross wanted. He wouldn't risk his son any more than he already had.

An hour later, Tony blinked in surprise at the screen where FRIDAY displayed a blinking dot, the location of Michael Bauer's cell phone and presumably the man as well. And Peter.

Tony had found a phone bill on one of Bauer's credit card statements so he'd broken into the phone company's database to find the man's number and then he'd very illegally tracked it. The idiot hadn't changed his location privacy settings, and he'd placed a call within the past couple hours, so it'd been a piece of cake to pinpoint his exact location.

Tony couldn't believe it had actually worked.

"Son of a bitch." He said to himself, then announced to the room, "I got him."

"Where?" Steve asked as he came over to his side.

"They're close. Just northwest of here." Tony answered. The rest of the Avengers gathered near him, some peering over his shoulder at the location on the screen.

"Jesus they're practically in our backyard." Clint said once he saw the location.

Tony pursed his lips. That was a slight exaggeration but the proximity of the location surprised Tony as well. They weren't a short drive away, but they were still in New York. Tony had expected Ross to have fled the country, or at the very least the state, with Peter.

Apparently Ross had copied the Avengers with his own secret hideaway in upstate New York. Tony wondered how he'd funded it, because he hadn't found any evidence of a real estate purchase by Ross in that location, or any allocation of government funding for it under Ross's name.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go get our kid." Nat said, and that's all it took to kick them into gear.

"Everyone suit up. Wheels up in five." Steve announced.

"I'll prep the Quinjet." Clint said before sprinting out of the room. The rest of the team filed out of the room after him, with Tony and Steve the last two out.

Anxiety settled deep in Tony's gut. So much could still go wrong.

"Should we really do this?" He asked Steve quietly, almost breathlessly with fear.

Steve stopped up short at the question and turned to face him. Tony stopped as well but watched as the rest of the team turned the corner in the hallway and disappeared.

Steve stepped in front of him and gripped his shoulder in silent support.

Tony glanced up and saw only concern and confusion on Steve's face.

"I mean, is this too much of a risk? This is Peter we're talking about, and they've already hurt him. Would it be the safer call to just do what Ross wants?"

Instead of getting defensive, Steve's brow furrowed as he carefully considered Tony's question.

"If that's what you want to do, I'll support you. And I'm sure the rest of the team will too. But Tony, even if we do what Ross is asking, that doesn't mean he'll just give Peter back to us. We'd be trusting him to keep his word, and that's a gamble that's out of our control."

Tony sighed and shook his head in consternation. "You're right. Of course you're right. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You're just scared." Steve said with another squeeze of his shoulder. "It's Peter."

"Yeah." He agreed quietly.

"Listen, if you need to sit this one out—" Steve offered gently.

"No." He protested vehemently, suddenly worried Cap would try to bench him.

"Are you sure? Because no one would fault you for—"

"No." He interrupted again. "Like you said, this is Peter. There's no way I'm going to stand by twiddling my thumbs while I wait for you guys to get him. He's my kid. I'm going to be the first one in."

"Ok." Steve smiled. "Then let's go get him."

"After you Cap." Tony held his hand out. Steve didn't hesitate and started walking briskly to the Quinjet. Tony followed right behind. They were going to get his son back. They were the Avengers. They wouldn't screw this up. They couldn't. Tony refused to entertain any alternate possibility. Peter would be back sleeping safely under the same roof as him tonight.

* * *

Peter grimaced and tried to hold as perfectly still as possible. Even breathing seemed to exacerbate the fire emanating from his right leg, so he tried to pant as shallowly as possible. He bit his lip when his thigh gave another sharp throb.

God, getting shot sucked. He thought he'd experienced pain before, and he had, but nothing held a candle to this. When Mike had shot him, it'd felt like he'd had a white hot poker stabbed through his leg. He guessed that made a twisted sort of sense since that was kind of what the bullet had done.

And he'd tried to be strong. He hadn't wanted to make Tony worry or look weak in front of him, and he'd almost managed it. But then that stupid Mike asshole had kept kicking his leg and it'd felt like he was getting stabbed over and over again with fire. He hadn't been able to keep in the cries of pain.

At least Mike had stopped kicking him once Ross had hung up on his dad, but it'd taken him a long time to finally get a handle on the pain again. By then, both men had gone and they hadn't come back. At least they'd had the decency to pull the gag back off at some point.

He scrunched his eyes closed when his leg pulsed again in pain. After a few short breaths, he opened them again and looked down at his injury. He couldn't see much besides the blood soaking his pants around the small hole in them. At least his leg was still there even though it kind of felt like part of it had been blown off.

His thoughts drifted to his dad and he wondered if this was the kind of pain he'd felt when he'd gotten struck in the chest with all that shrapnel in Afghanistan. He hoped not. Peter only had one hole in him, or maybe two if the bullet had gone all the way through, but he couldn't even imagine how much more it would hurt if there were several and they were in his chest.

Thoughts of his dad just brought tears to his eyes again. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to go home. He wanted the pain to stop. He really really wanted his dad.

A lesson from Nat popped into his mind. A couple months ago, she'd tried to teach him imagery techniques to deal with what she'd referred to as physical discomfort, which was a synonym for insanely terrible pain for anyone else. He decided it couldn't hurt to try.

He closed his eyes again and tried to imagine he was back in the Tower and hanging out with his dad and the rest of the team. Tried to pretend he was sitting on the couch, well fed and pain free. He envisioned he was tucked against Tony's side, warm and safe, the complete opposite of his current reality.

The distraction technique seemed to have worked because eventually he must've fallen asleep, or passed out, since his eyes were now blinking blearily back open again. What had woken him up? His leg still throbbed mercilessly but it didn't seem any worse than before. If anything, it seemed a little better. Less present. Or maybe he was the one that felt less present. Disconnected somehow.

He frowned as the world spun slowly around him. Just how long had he been out? His head ached and he was so incredibly thirsty. He couldn't remember ever wanting a glass of water as badly as he did right now.

He accidentally twitched in his seat and his leg gave an angry throb in protest. His attention was automatically drawn down to it. Oh shit. That was a lot of blood. His entire upper leg and lap of his jeans were saturated with blood. He shifted uncomfortably. It kind of felt like he'd wet his pants.

He stared blankly at it for several long seconds, unable to quite believe it. It was an alarming amount of blood. His blood. Was it too much? Was he bleeding out? He should…do something. Like put pressure on it or something.

He moved to do exactly that but his hands stayed stuck behind him in cuffs. Oh yeah. That's right. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could actually stem the bleeding with the way he was tied up. How had he forgotten that? He vaguely recognized he wasn't quite with it. His thoughts were moving in a slow muddled fashion. Probably the blood loss. Oh god, was he dying?

A muffled bang momentarily redirected his attention away from his own mortality. Now that he thought about it, the sound seemed oddly familiar. He realized it was what had woken him up initially. He concentrated on listening and he could hear softer pops and thuds and then another bang, this one sounding slightly closer. What was that?

He didn't get a chance to ponder it further because Mike and Ross burst into the room, the latter looking angry and harried, as they made their way over to him.

"Take him out the back tunnel." Ross ordered. "There's a helicopter concealed in the brush there. We'll rendezvous at the safe house."

"What about you?" Mike asked.

"I have to take care of this little problem first." Ross said.

"Little. Sure." Mike mumbled skeptically.

"Shut up." Ross growled and he leaned down to uncuff Peter's feet and then tossed the key to Mike who pocketed it.

Peter blinked but by the time it'd registered that his legs were free, Ross was standing too far away to kick at and Mike was hauling him up by his shoulder onto his feet. Oh god. Ow ow ow. No. There was no way he could walk. His head spun violently and dark spots gathered at the edge of his vision, but somehow he managed to keep a grip on consciousness.

"Walk." Mike ordered and gave him a little shove forward.

He tried to say no, to explain he couldn't but all that came out was, "Nngh."

"Walk you little freak." Mike ordered again and a second later Peter felt the familiar cool metal of a gun at his temple. "Unless you want a bullet in your head. _Walk_."

The man seemed serious and Peter didn't feel up to calling his bluff, so he took a small shuffling step forward. And then another. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet even though it felt like his leg was actually on fire now.

He couldn't prevent the small whimpers of pain that escaped him anymore than he could keep the blood from trickling out down his thigh to the floor. His leg gave out and he almost fell but Mike had a tight enough hold on him that he kept him upright with a grunt of effort.

"You want me to get him all the way out by myself? He can barely walk." Mike complained.

"Whose fault is that?" Ross didn't seem sympathetic to his lackey's strife.

"Yours." Mike said gruffly, adjusting so he had a better hold on Peter, but still keeping the gun uncomfortably close to his skull. "You're the one that told me to shoot him."

Ross glared at the man.

"I'm just saying it'd be great if I could have a little help." Mike grumbled.

"I think you can manage." Ross said.

Peter caught Mike rolling his eyes.

"Now get him out of here and try not to let too many of my people see him. Plausible deniability and all that." Ross commanded.

"Yeah yeah." Mike sighed. "And what are you going to be doing again?"

They'd finally made it to the door. Peter's world was so consumed by pain and lightheadedness that he barely knew his own name, let alone had the ability to fight to get away from a man holding a gun to his head.

"I have a plan. It should be enough to take care of the Avengers. Or at least buy us enough time." Ross said.

The Avengers? The increasingly louder thuds and booms suddenly made a sick sort of sense. The Avengers were here. They'd come for him. His dad had come for him.

"Good luck with that." Mike said, sarcasm apparent. "And what am I supposed to do with him if you don't make it out and I end up stuck with him?"

"Eliminate him." Ross answered quickly and mercilessly.

Peter's breath got caught in his throat.

"Whatever you say boss." Mike shrugged and then they were out the door and in the hallway.

* * *

A/N: Oh my god guys the response to the last chapter was so humbling! You are all amazing to me for taking the time out of your day to read and comment. I really hope I can live up to all of it and you continue to enjoy the story until the end. Sorry about the cliffhanger! I wish I could say there won't be any more from here on out, but that'd be a lie. Let me know what you thought of this chapter!

Also, I've gotten a few questions about pairings for Tony and I just wanted to let you know that I don't have any intention of giving him a romantic interest in this series because I'd rather keep the stories focused on Tony and Peter's relationship. And also, I know everyone has their preference and I don't want to disappoint anyone who's been following along with these stories for so long by pairing Tony with someone they don't like.


	27. Chapter 27

Despite being a little distracted by the whole possibly getting executed thing, Peter still had a chance to be surprised by his surroundings.

They must be underground.

The large hallway or tunnel or whatever they were in was completely concrete. There were no windows to be seen. It was also fairly quiet. For some reason, he'd expected alarms to be blaring and people to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off like the movies always depicted. But it wasn't like that at all. A group of soldiers dressed in what looked like black SWAT gear ran past them going the opposite direction. The very hallmark of efficiency. None of them gave Peter a second glance.

Peter watched them disappear around a corner. He didn't notice he'd stopped until Mike ordered gruffly, "Come on."

He continued on, letting himself get dragged by Mike. The thuds, bangs, and booms seemed to grow louder even as he got farther and farther away from where the Avengers were presumably fighting. He knew he should try to fight, to get away, but Mike still had the gun in his hand. If Peter was in prime shape he wouldn't be worried about it, but it was currently taking everything he had just to stay upright. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Mike right now.

Mike kept pulling him along. Besides, even if he did manage to escape at this point, he'd have no idea where to go. They'd passed too many poorly lit corridors and every time they seemed to go in a different direction. They had to be getting to the more remote areas of the place since he hadn't seen a single soldier in the last few minutes when there'd been so many that had passed the pair at the beginning of their trek.

After hearing what Ross had said about keeping him out of sight, Peter had considered begging one of the soldiers for help, since they probably didn't know that their boss had kidnapped a teenager. But when he really thought about it, he figured it was pointless. If these guys were willing to fight the _Avengers_ without explanation there was no way they'd blindly help _him_. Plus, none of them had even paused at the sight of a cuffed teenager being manhandled down the hallway, clearly injured, in blood soaked jeans. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for empathy.

He took another couple small steps, lagging behind Mike. He was so dizzy he could barely see. He couldn't decide if he was on the verge of passing out or puking.

"Hurry up." Mike complained and pulled roughly on his shoulder again. "Going slow on purpose isn't going to save you."

Huh, Peter even hadn't thought of that, but it was true. If he couldn't escape, he should at least do what he could to buy the Avengers more time to get to him. He made no move to go faster.

"Come _on_." Mike snapped impatiently and tugged again, harder this time. Peter took a few stumbling steps forward before his leg finally gave out. Mike lost his grip on him and he crashed hard onto the ground. Honestly, he was surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

The man swore and then ordered, "Get up."

Peter just blinked blankly up at him. Get up? By himself? Weak and bleeding out with his hands tied behind his back? Was he serious? But Mike didn't move a muscle to help him. He stood over Peter, clearly frustrated.

"Get your ass up right now or I'll make this your final resting place." Mike threatened and pointed the gun at his head.

Peter didn't think Mike would actually shoot him since Ross probably wouldn't like his biggest bargaining chip dead, but the man had a kind of crazy glint in his eyes, so he didn't think it'd be wise to risk disobeying. He took a bolstering breath, but before he had a chance to try to get up, the gun flew out of Mike's hand and clattered onto the ground several feet away.

What?

Mike twisted to look down the hallway and a split second later he stumbled backward and crashed to his ass onto the ground. The man gasped as he reached his hands up to his chest to grasp at…an arrow embedded there. Holy shit.

Peter just stared as the man sat on the ground and let out little gasps and gurgles as he clutched at the arrow back. A second later Peter heard another familiar _thwip_ and a second arrow sank into the other side of Mike's chest. The man didn't make a sound this time. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth as if to take a breath or say something, but then he let out a quick little exhale and tipped over sideways onto the ground.

Peter gaped at him. His eyes were still open but they stared vacantly into space. He was obviously dead. Peter had never watched someone die before and he didn't quite know how to feel about it.

"Kid!" The panicked voice calling out sounded familiar. He knew he should recognize it. And he knew the arrows meant something too but he couldn't quite seem to connect it all together.

Peter frowned and turned his gaze away from Mike's body and watched as Clint sprinted toward him, decked out in full Hawkeye gear, bow in hand. Oh right. Arrows. Hawkeye.

"Hey." Peter mumbled as Clint practically threw himself to the ground at his side.

"Hey yourself." Clint said back as he shouldered his bow and didn't waste a single second before putting a hand over the bullet hole in his thigh and leaning his entire weight on it.

Peter cried out in pain at the sudden pressure. The pain hadn't exactly disappeared as he'd walked with Mike but it'd abated into a constant burn. The pressure incited a new sharp stabbing.

"Sorry buddy." Clint mumbled. "But I gotta stop this bleeding."

Peter groaned but Clint made no indication he was about to let up anytime soon.

Clint used his free hand to reach behind him and pull out a scissors and a stack of bandages from somewhere. Peter watched through half lidded eyes as Clint cut a hole in his jeans over the bullet hole to expose it and then ripped open a packet of something and dumped it on his wound. It burned.

Peter cried out softly again.

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Clint said over and over, clearly upset. His usually smooth movements had a frantic edge to them. He placed a stack of bandages over it next and then pressed down hard on top of them again.

Peter bit his lip and tried to keep quiet but he still let out a little whimper.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Clint kept whispering.

"Ngh." Peter made another small noise of pain when he opened his mouth before he managed to say, "It's ok."

"No it's not ok kid." Clint said. "This is so far from ok I'm surprised you can even say those words."

The edge of his mouth twitched in a small smile. "You found me."

"Of course we did. A little too slow for my liking, but we're here now." Clint said.

Clint put a finger to his ear and spoke into the comm there, "I got the kid. I could use an extra set of hands at my location if anyone's close."

Peter was starting to acclimate to the pain again as Clint kept leaning on the stack of bandages to stem the bleeding. Clint was still saying things into the comm, but Peter wasn't listening. He was safe now. Mike was dead, and Clint had him. Hawkeye wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. His eyes slipped shut.

"Kid? Kid!" Clint yelled and Peter pried his eyes back open to glare at the man. He just wanted to rest.

"Stay awake." Clint ordered when he saw Peter was looking at him.

Peter groaned in protest.

"I know, but you gotta stay awake for me kid. Don't you want to see your dad? You'll get to see him soon but only if you stay awake." Clint bribed.

Peter had no clue how much time passed as Clint kept steady pressure on his wound. Everything seemed to be going too slow yet too fast at the same time. It was just him and Clint, but then it seemed like between one blink and the next, Natasha magically appeared. She knelt down next to Clint and she had the handcuff key in her hand. How had she even known where to find it?

She looked just as harried as Clint had at the sight of him, but she hid it faster.

"Hey little spider." Nat greeted him with a reassuring smile as she worked to uncuff him.

"H-hey Nat." He managed to say back, but even that small amount of talking tired him out. He groaned in relief when the cuffs finally released and he could straighten his arms out again.

Clint and Nat moved in unison to roll him completely onto his back. Clint leaned even more weight onto his leg while Nat grabbed a roll of bandages seemingly out of nowhere.

"I got it. Let go for a second." Nat told Clint as she leaned over his leg.

Clint pulled away and Nat took over, unrolling the bandage over the stack already there.

"Hold his leg up." Nat ordered and before Peter could protest, Clint stepped over him to his other side, grabbed under his knee, and held his leg up.

Peter gasped at the pain of the movement but then Nat started wrapping the roll around his leg as tight as possible and that hurt way more. The gasp turned into a whine and he instinctively tried to reach out to make it stop, but Clint intercepted his hand.

"I know buddy. I know it hurts." Clint tried to calm him. "But you have to hold still. We're almost done."

Nat kept going until the entire was roll was wrapped around his leg and securely fastened. Once she was finished, Clint carefully set his leg back down, and she looked back at Peter and asked, "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

He shook his head, and he wasn't really. Just bruised. Nothing else serious.

"Ok." Nat acknowledged and then felt for the pulse at his wrist with one hand while she brushed the hair off his forehead with the other.

When she was done she sat back and turned to Clint and mumbled, "He's in shock."

"I know." Clint mumbled back. "We shouldn't move him."

A bang suddenly echoed loudly down the corridor, nearly deafening, the loudest he'd heard yet. Both Avengers looked toward the direction of the noise for a second before continuing their conversation.

"We have to." Nat argued.

Clint sighed and nodded grimly. "I know."

Clint stood, pulled his bow and quiver off, and set them down on the ground next to him. He unzipped the jacket he was wearing and took it off before he crouched back down next to Peter. Nat roped a hand under Peter's shoulders and pulled him up. Between the two of them, they managed to get his arms through the sleeves of Clint's jacket and Clint zipped it up.

Peter hummed appreciatively. It was too big on him but the material was surprisingly warm. It was nice. Clint put his quiver and bow back on, both of his arms bare now, dressed only in his vest.

Another large explosion rocked the building, sending specks of dirt and rock down from the ceiling.

"Time to go." Clint said hurriedly.

"I don't know if I can walk." Peter admitted, hating how weak that made him.

"Don't worry. You're not walking kiddo." Clint said and then leaned back down to where Nat still held him propped up against her.

"You going to cover us?" Clint asked Nat.

"Of course." She answered dryly.

Clint smirked at her and the next second he got his arms under Peter's knees and behind his back and then he was being lifted.

The world went topsy turvy for a moment. When it straightened back out, Clint was carrying him at brisk pace with Nat a few steps in front of them, gun in hand. The movement, along with the dizziness and the pain in his leg, made him kind of nauseous. He closed his eyes.

"Stay with me kid." Clint said sharply down at him.

Peter opened his eyes again and met Clint's worried ones for a second before the archer had to refocus on where he was going. Peter blinked blearily and stared at Clint's face instead of what was happening in front of him. That didn't make him feel so sick. Hmm, Clint needed to shave. Every half a minute or so Clint would glance down at him to make sure he was still awake as they kept going.

"Stop." A voice suddenly commanded out of nowhere. It sent a spike of fear through Peter.

"Get out of our way Ross. You lost." Nat growled. Peter turned to look and saw Ross standing about ten feet in front of Natasha, gun in hand and aimed at her. Nat stood with her own gun aimed at the man.

"I don't think so." Ross said, not seeming worried.

"Don't move." Another voice ordered from behind Hawkeye. Peter flicked his eyes over the man's shoulder and saw an unfamiliar blonde guy holding a gun to the back of Clint's head.

"Nat." Clint said, an edge of uncertainty in his voice.

"Drop the gun." Ross ordered, but Nat didn't move.

The guy behind Clint moved to his side, keeping the gun trained on Clint, but when he was close enough to Peter, he placed it against his head instead.

"Drop it." Ross ordered again.

"Nat." Clint entreated.

Nat hesitated another second but then she bent down to a crouch and set the gun on the ground at her feet. As she straightened back up she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Peter wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but from his angle it looked like she managed to tap something in her ear with her thumb as she did it.

"Good." Ross said, oblivious. "Kick it to me."

Another second of hesitation, but then Nat did what Ross asked and kicked the gun forward.

"You're going to regret this Ross." Nat practically snarled.

"Oh I don't think so. Get against the wall." Ross ordered, indicating the direction with his gun. As Nat walked over to it, Ross picked her gun up and flung it even further down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"Now, hands up where I can see them." Ross ordered.

Nat put her palms against the wall. Peter could tell she was seething.

Ross walked toward him and Clint, gun still trained on Natasha, until he got close enough to turn it on Clint all while still keeping half an eye on Nat, who was now a good distance away and weaponless against the wall.

"Give me the kid." Ross ordered holding an expectant hand out toward him.

"I'd rather not." Clint said.

" _Now_."

"Are you sure? He's kind of heavy." Clint quipped.

"He'll be even heavier when he's dead weight." Ross threatened and aimed the gun at Peter.

"All right all right. I get it." Clint conceded. "I'll give him to you."

What? No. Peter turned panicked eyes on Clint, but he wasn't looking at him.

"Just back off a little first." Clint said, glancing at the lackey that still had a gun pressed against Peter's skull. "I don't want anyone accidentally getting trigger happy."

The lackey looked to Ross, who nodded his head in agreement. The man took a few steps back, gun now aimed at Clint instead of Peter.

"All right now hand the brat over." Ross growled.

"What do you want me to do? Throw him at you?" Clint asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Set him down on the ground and step away." Ross ordered.

"All right. Just…give me a second. He's heavy and I'm old." Clint groused, but started to bend down at a glacial pace, first onto one knee and then onto the other in exaggerated and dramatic movements until he was finally settled with both knees on the cement.

"Stop stalling." Ross snapped impatiently. "It's not going to help. No one from your band of rejects is coming. They're going to be tied up with the robot I released for a long time."

Peter blinked and in the next second he went from being partially on the ground in Clint's arms to being thrown down with Clint braced protectively over him. At the same time, he heard the characteristic whirl of a repulsor and the familiar zip of Cap's shield cutting through the air followed by a clang and Ross's curse as both hit their marks.

Peter peeked out from where he laid safely ensconced in Clint's arms and saw that Ross and his lackey now stood empty handed, the guns they'd been holding knocked to the ground.

"You were saying?" Ironman's voice echoed intimidatingly throughout the hallway.

Instead of responding, Ross just glared.

"It took you two long enough." Nat complained as she walked over to grab the gun on the ground by Ross and then the one by the blonde man. She pointed it at the latter and ordered, "On the ground."

"You too asshole." Tony said, hand still held out with its repulsor aimed at Ross.

As the men complied, Clint carefully pushed off of Peter. He gathered him back up in his arms and stood, walking toward Ironman.

When Clint stopped at Ironman's side, his dad dropped his repulsor and turned toward them, helmet retracting. Cap stepped up to Tony's other side, staring down at Ross to keep him from doing something stupid while Tony's attention was elsewhere.

His dad's eyes roamed over his body, taking in his sorry state. Peter could see the blatant worry in them along with a hard glint of anger.

"Dad." Peter mumbled. "You came."

"Of course kiddo. I told you I'd come. I'm sorry it took so long." Tony said and tried to give him a reassuring smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

"It's ok." He whispered and tried to smile back.

His dad's bare hand came up and brushed his hair back off his forehead and then cupped his cheek lovingly.

"We need to get him to Bruce." Clint said, interrupting the warm moment. "He's in pretty bad shape."

Tony turned a furious glare at Ross before focusing back on Peter, eyes softening again. He ran a hand through Peter's hair once more before he sighed and gave Clint a nod.

"You want to take him?" Clint offered and gave Peter a little lift toward his dad.

"No. You take him. I'll meet you there. I have something I need to take care of here first." Tony gave Ross a sidelong glance as he said it.

Tony and Clint shared a knowing look and Clint nodded. Peter couldn't quite believe his dad was leaving him with Clint. He wasn't coming with them?

Clint took a couple steps away and Peter reached out a hand toward Tony and gave a protesting whine, "No. Dad."

Tony closed the distance between them without hesitation and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze before setting it back on his chest.

"It's all right baby." Tony said softly as he ran a hand over his hair again. "Go with Clint. I'll be there soon, ok?"

Peter wanted to say no. He wanted to cry and beg for him to come with them. It wasn't that he didn't trust Clint, but he felt miserable and he wanted his dad. It seemed like he'd already waited so long to be with him, but he supposed he could wait a little longer.

"Ok." He whispered in defeat.

Tony gave him a small smile and stepped back.

"You too Cap." Tony said as he walked to where the man was guarding Ross. "Go with them."

"Tony." Cap said and Peter heard a hint of warning in it. Suddenly the air seemed tenser.

" _Go_ Cap." Tony ordered. "Keep my kid safe. Romanoff's got my back. Right?"

"Right." She answered dryly, gun still trained on the nameless blonde guy who silently knelt on the ground.

Peter watched as Steve and Tony eyed each other, having an entire conversation in silence.

Eventually Steve gave in with a resigned sigh. "Fine."

"Gun, Romanoff." Tony said.

Nat kept one gun trained on Ross's man while she walked over to Tony to hand him the other one in her opposite hand. Tony took it with bare hands, the gauntlets no longer engaged. Peter watched as Tony effortlessly released the clip, checked it, put it back in, and then cocked it so there was a bullet in the chamber, ready to fire.

Peter didn't know why it surprised him that his dad knew his way around guns so well. Sometimes he forgot Tony used to sell weapons for a living.

"Let's go Cap." Clint said insistently.

"Yeah Cap. Time to go." Tony said as he aimed the gun at Ross.

Steve hesitated, lips pressed together as he seemed to have some kind internal war with himself, before he turned sharply on his foot and started walking away. When he passed Clint, the archer turned and started following a few feet behind him.

They continued on like that in silence until Tony and Nat were long out of sight.

Clint grunted as he readjusted his hold on Peter and then let out a little laugh before admitting, "I was only half kidding before about the kid being heavy. Can you take him?"

Steve stopped and shouldered his shield. He held his arms out expectantly, unable to keep the small smile off his face. "Of course."

Clint handed him over carefully.

As he settled in Steve's arms, he definitely appreciated the extra heat the supersoldier let off even through the Captain America uniform. They started moving again, Clint now in front of them with his bow in hand. Peter rested his head against Steve's chest and closed his eyes.

"Wake up Peter." Steve said after what seemed like only a second later.

"Tired." He mumbled, not listening and burrowing his face further into the warmth of Steve's chest.

Steve chuckled but then said, "I know but you can sleep when we get to the Quinjet. Stay awake for now."

Peter groaned his displeasure but listened and pried his eyes open.

"Are we almost there?" He asked.

"We're getting closer." Steve hedged. That was a no then.

He stared at Steve hazily. His thoughts seemed slow and hard to grasp, like trying to hold smoke in your hand, but he had the nagging sensation there was something bothering him. Something he'd wanted to ask. He tried to replay everything in his mind back from when Steve and Tony had first shown up to deal with Ross and the blonde guy. Tony and Ross. Oh yeah. Now he remembered.

"Is my dad going to kill Ross?" He asked, voice even, devoid of emotion.

Clint and Steve didn't even try to hide the look they exchanged over his head.

"Yeah kid. I think so." Clint was the one who answered.

"Oh." He frowned. He didn't know how to feel about that, just like he hadn't known how to feel about Mike dying in front of him. And he really didn't have the energy to think about it right now, especially when everything felt kind of numb and surreal, like all of this was somehow happening to someone else.

"You all right?" Steve asked when he didn't say anything else after a long minute.

"Yeah." He sighed, eyelids heavy. "Just tired. I want to go home."

"We'll be there soon." Steve assured him.

He nodded but his eyelids eventually lost the battle with gravity and slipped closed again.

"Stay with me buddy." Steve said.

Peter hummed in acknowledgement.

"Open your eyes Peter." Steve said louder in his command voice as he gave him a little shake.

No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't disobey Captain America. He cracked his eyes open again and stared silently at Cap who was looking down at him with worry filled eyes.

"Stay with me." Steve said again, more insistently this time.

Peter tried, but it was hard.

"He needs Bruce." Clint said with growing urgency.

Steve nodded in agreement and they increased their pace from a brisk walk to a jog.

Peter clung to consciousness as they continued through the corridors. It seemed to take forever before they finally made it outside and up the ramp into the Quinjet.

Once inside, Steve deposited him gently on one of the beds and Bruce instantly appeared.

"Hey Peter." The man smiled down at him. "We have to stop meeting like this."

Peter managed a weak grin at the joke. He didn't have the energy for anything else.

Suddenly Sam was there too. And Rhodey. They flitted about him, helping Bruce, hooking him up to monitoring equipment, placing an oxygen mask over his mouth. At some point someone slid an IV into his inner elbow. Peter could barely pay attention to it all. He was so tired. He couldn't remember ever feeling this tired in his entire life. Not even that time he and Ned had stayed up over 30 hours for a Doctor Who marathon.

Now that they were in the Quinjet, he could sleep. Steve had said so. And everyone knew Captain America's word was law. He closed his eyes.

"Try to stay awake Peter." Bruce said and gave his shoulder a little shake like Steve had before.

"Can't." He tried to mumble but he wasn't sure if the word even came out.

Because he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't listen. He'd done what Steve had asked. He'd stayed awake until they'd made it to the Quinjet. He couldn't hold on anymore. He couldn't.

"Peter!" Someone yelled and the shaking got more aggressive.

He didn't respond. He couldn't. Pure exhaustion had settled deep into his bones. Instead of trying to claw his way back to consciousness, he gave in to it.

He stopped fighting.

And let go.

* * *

A/N: I can't believe all the marvelous feedback from the last chapter. You guys are all so awesome! Let me know what you thought of this one!

Also, just to clarify since I've gotten some questions about it - this story is set in the MCU after Homecoming because that's when I initially posed the first story in this series, so it should be mostly canon up to that point. Ragnarok hadn't come out yet, so I didn't know Bruce was apparently on a different planet when I added him to the story. Oops. If I keep adding to the series, I might eventually introduce Thor or the Guardians or Doctor Strange, etc. if I could figure out how to weave them in believably and not completely deviate from the established universe. But I guess it also kind of depends on how Endgame ends because if certain people die (*cough* Tony *cough*) all bets are off.


	28. Chapter 28

Tony half watched as Clint and Steve left with his kid.

As soon as they were out of sight, Nat squeezed the trigger and shot the blonde guy dead center in the forehead. The silencer on the gun made it fairly monotonous. No sound echoed. The man simply crumpled over, dead.

"Really couldn't wait, huh?" Tony joked, not at all caring the guy was dead.

Nat shrugged. "He got off easy, but we're kind of on a time crunch. So make this fast."

It reminded him that part of the team was almost finished placing explosives around the underground compound so they could blow it when they left, and Peter was hurt and waiting and they needed to get him back to the compound as soon as possible.

"Too bad. I kind of wanted to take my time to enjoy this." Tony grumbled. If he could, he'd take Ross apart piece by piece for what he'd done to his son.

"You're not going to kill me Stark." Ross scoffed, overly confident for a guy with a gun aimed at him. "I'm the Secretary of State."

"You're also in a secret underground bunker you created without leaving any trace behind, which I still can't figure out how you did." Tony said.

"I'm not telling you Stark." Ross said.

"And I don't care. The point is…no one knows you're here, no one even knows this place exists. No one would think to look for you here if you were to suddenly go missing." Tony deadpanned.

The first hint of fear flickered in Ross's eyes. "Listen Stark—"

"Don't bother. You decided your fate the second you hurt my kid." Tony interrupted coldly.

"You can't kill me." Ross said again, but he sounded more unsure this time.

"Sure I can." Tony said simply and then shot Ross in the right leg, in the exact spot where he'd shot Peter.

Ross swore and pitched forward, but he managed to keep his left foot planted on the ground supporting his weight while his right leg folded under him.

"You fucking asshole." Ross spat at him.

"I'm the asshole?" Tony said and shot Ross in the left kneecap.

The man cried out in pain and crumpled to the ground.

"Yeah let's see you get up from that." Tony said.

"Fuck you Stark. You're going to be sorry. I'm going to make you pay for this. The president—"

"No you see, it's funny that you don't get it." Tony cut him off with a growl. "You're not walking away from this one. You're done. You took my kid. You hurt my kid. You're a dead man."

Tony accentuated the truth of his words by shooting Ross in the gut.

Ross screamed in pain and grabbed at his stomach.

"How long do you think it'd take for that to kill him?" Tony asked Nat.

She shrugged. "Maybe a few hours."

"I should just leave you like this. Let you suffer and die a slow, painful death. The kind you deserve. You sick sack of shit." Tony said, gesturing with the gun in anger.

"You're fucking crazy." Ross moaned as he curled into a ball and held his stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers.

"Why? Because I'm the one person in the world that's finally giving you what you deserve?"

Ross glared at him.

"Huh?" Tony asked then nudged Ross's bleeding leg over and over again like his lackey had done to Peter in the video. "Does that hurt? Does it? Does it?"

He finished it with a swift kick to the stomach. Ross spasmed in pain. Tony wished he could savor it more, wished he could find some satisfaction in it, but all he felt was anger. Anger at this man who had hurt his son. Anger at himself for not doing a better job of preventing it. Anger at the world for how shitty it'd been to Peter.

"I did what I had to do." Ross grit out between coughs. "For the greater good of the country. Of the world."

"No you don't get to pretend you're some kind of hero martyr. You kidnapped a _sixteen year old kid_ , tied him up, beat him, and shot him. Simple as that." Tony said.

"He's just one kid." Ross explained. "He's nothing compared to the rest of the world."

"Wrong." Tony spat. "He's everything. He's the best kid I've ever met. He represents what's worth fighting for. He is the world. And most importantly, he's _my_ world."

Tony stood over Ross and glared down at him. The man stared back and Tony could distinguish the exact moment the man realized he was about to die. That Tony wasn't playing around.

"Wait Stark—" Ross pleaded.

"You've made a lot of mistakes Ross," Tony said, "but this was your biggest one. And, ironically, your last."

"Wait!"

Both of Ross's arms came up as if to shield himself, and Tony shot him right in the face.

He was a little too close and the resulting splatter kind of got everywhere. He scrunched his face up in disgust.

"Gross." He complained and stepped away from Ross's body, a body that was barely even identifiable anymore now that part of his face was gone.

Nat hummed neutrally. He was sure she'd seen much worse.

He turned to her and asked, "Do I have brains on me? Please tell me I don't have brains on me."

She quirked her lips in an amused smile and walked closer to him, taking in his appearance. "You don't have brains on you. You just have a little blood…"

She trailed off and then used her sleeve to wipe the side of his cheek clean.

"There." She said in satisfaction.

"Thanks." He nodded at her. "I should've kept the faceplate up, but I wanted to look him in the eyes."

"Fair." Nat shrugged and then took the gun from him, wiped it down and tossed it aside.

"To be honest," He said with uncharacteristic candor, "I thought that'd make me feel better, but it really didn't."

"It never does." Nat said pensively.

"Hm." It wasn't like he felt bad about it, because he definitely didn't, but he didn't feel good about it either.

"Doesn't mean it didn't have to be done." Nat said, her version of a pep talk. "Because it did. He couldn't walk away from this alive after what he did to Peter. After what he knew about Peter."

"I know." Tony nodded and then ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. A second later, he swore and glanced down at his hands. He didn't see any brains or bone fragments or blood on them but he worried he'd accidentally wiped it off in his hair.

"Shit. Did I get blood in my hair?" He asked Nat.

"No." She rolled her eyes but didn't so much as glance in his direction.

"You didn't even look!" Tony accused.

"Yes I did." She shook her head in consternation. "You're fine. Now, are we done here?"

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." Tony said readily. He wanted to get back to Peter.

Nat wiped her borrowed gun down and tossed it away before starting down the hallway toward the Quinjet. She paused to pick up her own gun that Ross had thrown earlier and then continued walking. Tony followed right behind, his steps light even in the heavy Ironman armor.

He felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He had his kid back. Peter was safe. And Ross would never threaten any of them again. It was over.

They continued the long trek through the tunnels, stepping over the random rubble and bodies of soldiers in companionable silence. It seemed like forever before they finally got to the exit and stepped outside into the light. The sun shined down, warm on his face, and everything smelled like pine. It was oddly peaceful, the complete opposite of where'd they just been.

"Let's blow this place so we can go home." Nat said, sounding bored.

"Your wish is my command." Tony smirked and then re-engaged the helmet. "FRIDAY is everyone out?"

"Everyone is out and accounted for boss." FRIDAY affirmed.

"Are all the charges in place?"

"Yes boss."

"Then you heard the lady. Light it up."

"Yes boss. Incendiary ignition in 3…2…1."

There was a distant rumble and the ground under their feet gave a slight shudder. Some dust escaped out in a small plume from behind the closed bunker doors they'd just exited. But otherwise nothing overly impressive happened.

"We good FRIDAY?"

"Yes boss, my scans are showing 95% destruction of the underground structure, better than the expected 70%."

Tony flipped his mask back off. "Huh. That was kind of anticlimactic."

Nat snorted. "Not flashy enough for you Stark?"

"You know me." He grinned. "I like to make a dramatic exit."

"I guess you can't win them all." Nat shrugged.

"Yeah, but we did win this one. Remember?" Tony corrected, the relief making him oddly giddy. "Vanquished the bad guy. Got my kid back."

"Got your kid back." Nat agreed and graced him with a genuine smile before jerking her head in the direction of the Quinjet, which sat in a small clearing about twenty yards away. "Come on, let's go. The sooner we get back to the Quinjet, the sooner we get back to your kid."

"Yeah. You're right." Tony agreed.

"I just love it when you tell me I'm right." Nat said, throwing him a teasing smirk.

"Ha ha." Tony rolled his eyes and held a hand out. "After you."

Nat didn't hesitate. She started walking toward the Quinjet.

"You know, this has made me realize how much I've missed our quality time together." Tony remarked.

"We spend plenty of time together." Nat said dryly.

"True, but I was talking about on things like this. Missions. We need to pair up on missions more. Why doesn't Steve pair us up more?"

"Could be because I can't fly and you don't like to stick close to the ground." Nat answered.

Tony pretended to think about it for a second before shaking his head. "Nah. I think it's because Cap knows if we spend too much time together you might start to like me more than him."

"In your dreams." Nat said and rolled her eyes.

"Ouch." Tony fake grabbed at his heart. He knew she was kidding.

"But on the next mission that takes place in a secret underground bunker where we have to save your kidnapped kid, I'll definitely put in a formal request that we get paired up together." Nat deadpanned as they walked up the Quinjet's ramp.

"That's sarcasm. See? I can tell. You're just proving my point. We know each other so well." Tony jested, in a remarkably good mood now that everything had turned out fine.

Nat rolled her eyes again.

"What took you guys so long?" Scott snapped as soon as they entered the Quinjet. "Did you stop to pick dandelions? Braid each others hair?"

Tony frowned as he stepped out of the Ironman armor. That was a little out of character. Scott was one of the most laid back people on the team. He couldn't think of a single time the man had lost his temper with him. And Tony knew he had a tendency to be a little trying sometimes.

Before he could answer, he noticed the Quinjet was uncharacteristically noisy. He looked past Scott to figure out what all the ruckus was about and the sight made his brain short circuit. As if it refused to believe what it was seeing as fact.

"I'll get us in the air." Nat said breathily, seeing the same thing. All the earlier lightheartedness between them instantly evaporated. She sprinted to the front of the Quinjet.

"I'm sorry man." Scott said and eyed him cautiously like he was some wild animal about to go on a rampage.

Maybe he was.

Because he certainly didn't feel like himself right now. He didn't feel like anything because what he was seeing couldn't actually be happening. It couldn't. His brain absolutely refused to process it. While before it'd been loud, suddenly all the sound seemed to have been sucked out the room.

Wanda stood off to the side, crying soundlessly with Vision standing next to her, an arm around her. Both their gazes were fixed on Peter.

Peter, who lay on the Quinjet medical bed with Steve leaning over him, hands on his chest, doing compressions. Clint stood at the head of the bed with silent tears streaming down his cheek as he held a mask over Peter's mouth and intermittently gave him breaths by squeezing the attached bag, while Sam injected blood with a huge syringe into some kind of needle that stuck out of Peter's uninjured leg.

As he watched, Bruce made Sam stop for a second so he could inject something else into the port there. And Rhodey stood next to the bed, frantically setting up a small machine. One that Tony recognized, but couldn't seem to make sense of.

Because it was defibrillator. And you only ever used those when someone's heart had stopped. Just like you only did CPR for the same reason. But none of that could be right. What Tony was seeing couldn't be right. It couldn't be possible. His kid wasn't getting CPR. Because that would mean he was dead. And that couldn't be true because he hadn't looked like he was dying earlier. Tony had talked to him. He'd been breathing. He'd been warm. Not even close to dead. So Tony couldn't understand why his kid was getting CPR right now. How his kid could be dead right now. Because he was. Tony gasped in realization. Peter was dead right now. He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating.

" _No!_ " Tony screamed because he refused to believe it. He _refused_.

All the sound returned like a snap, but he couldn't make sense of any of it.

He started to run to Peter's side because if he could just touch him, surely this whole illusion would disappear. But he only made it a couple steps before Rhodey intercepted him. He slammed into his friend's chest with a sob. He hadn't even realized he was crying as he let out huge, gut wrenching sobs. He'd never cried so hard in his life.

"No!" He yelled again and tried to pull away to get to Peter. He needed to get to Peter.

"Shh. I got you man. I got you." Rhodey mumbled and wrapped his arms around him. "But you have to let them do their thing. You have to let them help him."

Tony fought for a few more seconds before his knees gave out and he would've collapsed to the ground if not for Rhodey's hold on him. His friend lowered them both down with nothing but a slight grunt and Tony buried his head in his shirt and sobbed. He fisted and unfisted the back of his friend's shirt as if he was in actual physical agony. It kind of felt like he was.

"No no no." He whispered between cries.

Rhodey held him. He didn't tell him it would be ok. Or any other lie. He stayed quiet and just held him.

Maybe he deserved this. Tony didn't know if he believed in God, but maybe this was finally his punishment for all the evil he'd done in his life. Or for killing Ross in cold blood. He'd taken a monster's life and now he had to pay for it with Peter's perfectly innocent one. It didn't make any sense. It should be him. Not Peter. Never Peter. He should be the one suffering, not his son. He sent up a silent plea to whatever deity may be listening to save his son. He'd give anything. Including his own life. He'd gladly lay down and die if it meant Peter would live.

"Please please please." He pleaded into Rhodey's chest.

His friend hugged him tighter.

"Shockable rhythm!" Sam yelled.

Tony glanced up when he heard the spark of hope in Sam's voice.

"Finally." Bruce said and reached toward the defibrillator. The stickers connected to it were already stuck on Peter's chest. "Charging… Everyone clear? Shocking."

Bruce pushed the button on the defibrillator and Peter's body jerked inches off the bed.

A second later his kid took a gasping breath and started coughing.

It was the most beautiful sound Tony had ever heard.

* * *

A/N: Ah! At least I didn't end it on a cliffhanger? And Tony killed Ross. Did anyone think he wouldn't? I'd love to hear all your thoughts on how things played out in this chapter. And thank you so much for all of your kind feedback!


	29. Chapter 29

Everything around him was bright, white light. As far as he could see. There was nothing else. He spun around but the sight didn't change. Even beneath his feet was the same light. He wasn't standing on anything he could see. What the?

Where was he? How had he gotten here? He wracked his brain to try to remember. He'd just been on the Quinjet and people had been yelling at him to stay awake, but he hadn't been able to. He'd given in and fallen asleep. So, maybe this was a dream? If it was, it sure was a weird one.

"Hello?" He called out. "Is anyone there?"

No one answered.

"Hello?" He called out louder and squinted. In the distance he thought he saw indistinct shapes moving towards him. But it was hard to be sure because everything was so bright. He tried to shield his eyes by holding a hand over his eyebrows, but it didn't help. Of course it didn't. There was no sun here. The light came from everywhere.

The shapes slowly grew larger until he could make out that there were four of them, and they looked like the figures of people. Weird.

He waited patiently until one of them was finally close enough for Peter to distinguish its features. The other figures were still a little ways behind. The front one was a man. He was tall and had dark chestnut hair and brown eyes. He looked oddly familiar and Peter got a warm rush when he smiled at him.

"Hi Peter." The man said once he stopped in front of him, a couple feet away.

Peter peered up at him and tried to figure out how he knew him. Why butterflies seemed to fill his chest. His identity struck Peter like a bolt of lightning.

"Dad." He choked out in surprise.

"It's been a long time son." Richard Parker said as he opened his arms.

"Dad!" Peter closed the remaining distance between them and crashed into his father's arms.

"I missed you dad. I missed you so much." He cried as he clutched him.

"I missed you too." His dad said back. "And I am so so proud of you."

He felt his dad kiss the top of his head and it flooded him with the same feeling of love as when Tony did it. Peter closed his eyes and held on tight as he tried to just enjoy the feeling of being in his dad's arms. He didn't even care if it was all a dream. If it was, it was an amazing one.

"We're all proud of you sweetheart." A new but familiar voice said from next to his dad. Peter looked over and gasped.

"Mom!" He cried and flung himself at her.

Mary Parker caught him with a melodic laugh and hugged him tight.

"Oh I love you baby." She said into his hair. "I've missed you. I'm so sorry we had to leave you."

"I've missed you too. And I love you too. Both of you. So much." He said, still kind of crying, but they were tears of happiness.

When he finally managed to pull away, he drank in the sight of his parents standing in front of him. His mom's auburn hair was styled just like he remembered, a blunt shoulder cut with bangs. She was real. They were both real. He was practically bursting he was so happy. He felt like he was in…

"Is this heaven? Am I dead?" Peter asked suddenly, eyes widening. Oh no. Had he died?

"No honey. This place is more of an in-between." His mom answered. "Somewhere we can visit but we can't stay."

"So how are you here? How-how am I here?" Peter frowned.

"Let's not talk about that right now. It's not important. Let's just enjoy the time we have together." His dad said and then glanced behind him. "And look who else is here to see you."

Another man walked forward and Peter's jaw dropped when he saw who it was.

"Ben!" He flew into his uncle's arms and the man caught him with a grunt and a hearty chuckle. Ben twirled the two of them around like he used to do when Peter was a little kid.

"Hey there sport." Ben said as he set him back down.

"Ben." Peter said his name again and his voice cracked as he looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"No now none of that." Ben smiled down at him, not an ounce of anger on his face. Nothing like Peter's numerous dark imagings of how this moment would go. "It wasn't your fault, so you need to stop beating yourself up about it."

"I don't know if I can." Peter admitted.

"Try." Ben insisted. "For me. Please."

"Ok." Peter whispered. In that moment he would've agreed to any request Ben made. "I'll try."

"That's my boy." His uncle said warmly and gave him another squeeze. "I love you."

"I love you too." Peter mumbled and burrowed his face into his chest. He still smelled just like Peter remembered.

"What about me?" Another person asked. Peter recognized the voice instantly.

"May!" He called out as he whirled around and threw his arms around her.

"Hi honey."

"May I'm—"

"If you say sorry I'm going to scream." May interrupted him.

"But—"

"No, listen sweetie. Ben's right. You need to stop torturing yourself." May insisted as she ran a loving hand down his cheek. "We don't blame you for anything. None of it was your fault. We all love you, and we just want you to be happy."

"But how can I be happy when you're gone?" Peter choked up as he asked.

"It'll get better honey."

Peter shook his head.

"It will." May said more firmly. "You just need to give it time."

"But I don't want to forget you."

"You won't honey." May said confidently before leaning forward to kiss his forehead. When she straightened back up, she used her thumb to rub off the lipstick she'd left there.

Suddenly he felt an odd tugging sensation from behind him. He turned to look but nothing was there.

"It's time to make a choice Peter." His dad said.

"A choice?" He didn't understand.

"You can't stay here, like Mary said." His father explained. "You can go back…or move on."

"You mean…die?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

"If I move on, do I get to stay with you?" He asked.

His father nodded.

"But I could go back and live?"

His father nodded again.

"What should I do?" He asked as he looked to his dad with a beseeching look for guidance. He was so confused. He needed any wisdom his dad could impart.

"We're not allowed to influence your decision." His dad answered solemnly. "You alone have to decide."

Peter chewed on his lip. If he stayed, he'd get to be with his family. His parents. May and Ben.

But what about Tony? He'd have to leave him behind. And all the Avengers that had somehow turned into a different kind of family for him. And Ned. And Spiderman. And any future he had.

It seemed like an impossible choice.

The tugging grew more insistent.

"You need to decide." Richard said with barely discernible anxiety.

"I-I—" He glanced behind him again even though there was nothing there to see. No one to see. He knew what he was looking for. _Who_ he was looking for. And even though he felt guilty, he knew what his decision would be.

"I love all of you…but I can't stay." He said miserably and hung his head. "I need to go back."

When he looked up again, he expected to see sadness or hurt on his family's faces. But all he saw was joy.

"Good choice son." His dad said with a wide smile as he stepped forward.

"You're-you're not mad?"

"No." His dad kept smiling. "We want you to go back and live a long, happy life. And when you come back, after you're old and grey, we'll be here, waiting for you."

Peter sniffled and gave them all a sad smile. "I love you all so much. I miss you all the time."

"We know baby." May said as she smiled back.

"We miss you too." Ben said.

"But this is the right choice sweetheart. We want you to live your life." His mom said.

None of them seemed upset.

The tugging grew almost painful.

"It's time to get you back to your other dad." His father said with his own soft smile.

Peter looked up at him with wide, startled eyes.

"What?" Richard chuckled. "You thought I'd be upset? I'm not. I know how to share. And I want you to have someone. We're both your father, Peter."

"I love you dad." Peter said earnestly, through wet eyes.

"I know. I love you too, but it's time to go now." His father told him and placed his hands on Peter's shoulders.

"Be happy." His dad decreed with finality, almost like a blessing, and then he gripped his shoulders and _shoved._

Peter fell backward, expecting to hit the ground, but he fell through it instead. And then he kept falling, falling, falling. But for some reason he wasn't afraid. It was oddly peaceful.

The light grew further and further away and inky black darkness started to fill more and more of his vision. Finally, only a tiny speck of light remained, until even that winked away, and an instant later, Peter's back slammed into something.

He gasped and choked. It felt like the worst case of getting the wind knocked out of him ever. He couldn't breathe. It was almost like he'd forgotten how to and was only now remembering. He started coughing. His chest hurt. Tiny bits of information filtered in, one small piece at a time.

It was loud.

There were voices.

"I think he's coming around." He heard someone say.

Someone was crying. Several someones were saying his name over and over.

"Peter. Peter."

"Wake up kid."

"Open your eyes Peter."

"Wake up for me. Please baby. Open your eyes." Peter knew that voice. He leaned instinctively toward it.

"Come on kiddo. Let me see those bambi eyes." The voice coaxed.

Eyes. He had eyes. And he knew how to open them, right? He could do that for the nice voice. He tried to open them and they flickered. A stab of light made it through the small crack in his eyelids. It was bright. Like it'd been…somewhere else? Had he just been somewhere else? Then how'd he get here? Where was he now? Everything seemed all jumbled up and confusing.

"That's it. Good job." The voice was close, like it was only inches from his face.

He had a face. He could feel someone's hand cupping his cheek like May had done in…in the other place? In the dream?

Had he been dreaming?

He had a vague recollection of the dream and he desperately tried to hold onto it. To keep it in his memory. Because he had the sense that somehow it was important. Oh right. In the other place… In the dream? His parents had been there. And so had May and Ben. And they'd told them they loved him and they'd wanted him to be happy. And then his dad had sent him back to…to his other dad. Tony.

"Come on baby. Try again. Open your eyes for me." He recognized the voice trying to wake him up as Tony's. And he wanted to see him.

He managed to open his eyes again, squinting at the light but able to keep them from instinctively closing this time. Tony's face leaned closer over him, blocking out some of the brightness. Peter frowned. His dad was crying.

"Dad." He managed to get out with a soft exhale, word muffled by the oxygen mask over his mouth.

"Shh. Don't-don't try to talk." His dad soothed with a watery smile and started brushing his hair back. "Just…just keep breathing."

That seemed like a weird request but simple enough, so he listened and took a few short breaths. But he had to tell his dad about his dream before he forgot. As weak as he felt, he was still able to flop a hand up and dislodge the mask enough to talk.

"I had…the weirdest dream." He mumbled.

His dad shushed him and replaced the mask, and then grabbed his hand to hold in his own. "Leave that kiddo."

But he needed to get the words out.

"I saw…" He paused to take another couple breaths and to try to get enough energy to finish. God he was tired. "I saw…my parents."

Tony's eyes widened.

"And," He paused to lick his lips, "May and Ben."

Tony stared down at him with a mildly freaked out expression, some mixture of shock and terror.

"They told me…" He trailed off. Talking suddenly seemed like too much effort. He was so exhausted. And dizzy.

"Shh it's ok. You can tell me later. For now, just breathe. And stay awake." Tony insisted.

"Ok." He whispered. "Just don't…let me forget…"

"I won't." His dad promised.

"How much blood is in so far Sam?" Peter heard Bruce ask from beside him.

"Two units." Sam answered by his feet.

"Keep going. Push another one in." Bruce said.

"That's the last one on board." Sam sounded worried.

"That's fine. We'll be at the compound soon. And he's getting extra volume from the saline running through the IV." Bruce reassured and then fiddled with the tubing attached to Peter's right elbow.

"Hey Peter, you back with us?" Bruce asked him when he noticed his eyes on him.

Peter hummed in response. Sort of. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"You gave us quite a scare." Bruce continued.

Peter didn't know what he was talking about so he just blinked at him, brow furrowed slightly.

"Try to stay awake ok?" Bruce requested and Peter could see the tightness around his eyes that meant he was worried.

Peter gave him a small jerky nod, displacing the oxygen mask slightly. His dad was quick to re-adjust it on his face, which brought Peter's attention back to him. His dad wasn't crying anymore but his eyes were still bloodshot and misty.

"I love you buddy." His dad said and gave him another shaky smile and then kissed the back of Peter's hand within his grasp.

All the 'I love you's' from the dream echoed in his mind.

"Love you too." He managed to get out the faint words and gave his dad a tired half smile.

Tony kept staring avidly down at him as if he was the most precious thing in the world. It was kind of nice but also a little overwhelming.

And he was still so tired.

His eyes slid closed again.

Until he heard his dad frantically calling for him to wake up and open his eyes.

The terror apparent in his dad's voice forced him to listen even though all he wanted to do was rest.

"Stay awake." Tony told him when they made eye contact again. "Eyes on me. Ok?"

Tony gave his hand a hard squeeze. Peter managed a small nod. His dad looked terrified, so he'd do his best.

And he did.

He stayed awake, in a state where he didn't try to talk but just kept blinking wearily up at his dad until they got him to the compound and into the Medbay.

In the Medbay there were more people and more lights. He could make out words here and there but he couldn't make sense of them. Things like femoral vein, hypovolemic shock, arrest, ROSC, three units. His dad stayed close to his side even as all the medical personnel worked around him.

At some point his bed started moving again and his dad walked beside it, still refusing to leave him even though Peter could tell it was annoying some of the medical people. They rolled him into another room. It was even brighter and colder. But he didn't get nervous until the medical staff started moving him from his bed onto a cold metal table. That perked him up slightly. At the same time he noticed he was clad only in his boxers. When had that happened?

Why was he here? Where was here? What were they going to do to him?

"Dad?" He called out weakly in trepidation. He'd lost sight of him when he'd been moved. He knew it was stupid to be scared. He was at the compound. His dad wouldn't let anything happen to him. He was safe. But he was also so exhausted the processing of his thoughts was muddled.

"I'm right here buddy." His dad reassured, coming back to his side and grabbing his hand again once he was settled on the metal table. "It's ok. They're going to fix your leg up and then you'll be back somewhere nice and comfortable soon. Don't worry. I'll be here until you fall asleep and I'll be there when you wake up, ok?"

Peter nodded and gripped his dad's hand a little tighter.

"We're going to give you a little something to relax you, ok Peter?" An unfamiliar voice said from behind his head. "Can you start counting backward from 100 for me?"

Peter licked his dry lips and stared into his dad's eyes as he started counting, "100…99…98…97…."

A wave of absolute exhaustion washed over him and everything started getting fuzzy. What number had he been on? Had he even been counting out loud or just in his head? He couldn't remember, so he guessed.

"…95…"

His eyes flickered closed and his grip on his dad's hand loosened. His mouth slackened and he couldn't make it form any more words. He never made it to 94.


	30. Chapter 30

The next time Peter woke, he felt a lot better. He was still tired, but more of the normal kind of tired, instead of the 'I'm hurt so bad I can't keep my eyes open' kind of tired.

Before he opened his eyes, he took silent stock of himself. His leg ached but it was more of a distant pain instead of the all consuming hurt it'd been before. The only other thing bothering him was his chest, and for the life of him, he couldn't remember what he'd done to it. He didn't remember hurting it during the escape, but something must've happened because it ached almost as much as his leg.

He cracked his eyes open and was glad to find the lights were dimmed. It gave his vision time to adjust. There was still just enough light to see by. He blinked a couple times and glanced around the room. He found the person he'd been looking for immediately.

His dad sat in a chair next to him, feet up on the edge of Peter's bed, facing a TV that played nearly soundlessly on the opposite wall. He wasn't focused on it. Instead, his head was angled down toward his lap. For a second, Peter thought he was asleep but then his hand moved to swipe at something on the Starkpad resting on his thigh.

Sun peeked out through the cracks in the window curtains behind his dad. At least it wasn't the middle of the night. He wondered what day it was. Time had kind of lost all meaning when he'd been captured and held in that windowless room.

"Hey." He rasped at his dad and then let out a small laugh when Tony jerked in his chair, legs falling to the ground and wide eyes turning to Peter.

" _Peter_." His dad said his name with wonder. He stood and carefully perched on the edge of the bed, looking down at him as if he was something miraculous. He could read the relief on his dad's face along with something else in his eyes, a hint of fear and anxiety.

"I scared you." Peter said out loud the moment he realized it.

"Yeah you did kiddo." Tony admitted with a sigh and then reached out and tangled a hand in his hair.

"Sorry." He said then flicked his eyes to the side in shame. "I can't believe I was dumb enough to get kidnapped."

"Hey." Tony said and grabbed his chin lightly, moving his head back to force eye contact. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah it was. I just went with that guy even when my spider sense was going off. It was trying to tell me I was in danger, but I just thought it was malfunctioning again. I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid." Tony said with conviction. "You made a mistake. Like we all do. None of us are perfect. All we can do is learn from it and move on."

Peter sighed, still feeling like a failure.

"How'd they even find out I was Spiderman?" He asked curiously.

"Toomes sold you out to Ross. And then Ross killed him." Tony answer succinctly.

"What?" Peter blinked. Toomes was dead? There were so many people dying. He knew the man had sold out his identity so he shouldn't care, but for some reason all he could picture was Liz's devastated face at finding out her father was dead.

"It's my fault." Peter mumbled.

"No it's not." Tony said firmly. "Listen to me. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one who had him moved to the Raft when I found out he knew your identity."

"You did?" Peter asked in surprise. He'd had no idea.

Tony nodded.

"Why?"

"To keep you safe." Tony said. "But obviously it backfired on me. It either made Toomes mad enough to rat you out or it drew unnecessary attention to him and Ross got wind of it and got it out of him. Either way…once Ross had what he needed, he tied up the loose end. Made it look like an accident. But it was his hired gun, that Michael guy, that did it."

"The one Hawkeye killed." Peter mumbled. That guy was dead too. He could still see the man's panicked eyes as blood bubbled from his lips and he died with two arrows in his chest.

"Peter." Tony said softly, drawing his attention back to him, obviously sensing he wasn't quite all right. "Listen, the important thing is that you're ok. You're here with me now. You're safe. And I'm going to make sure nothing like this _ever_ happens again. Got it?"

He nodded. He didn't know how Tony could possibly ensure that but he figured if anyone could promise the impossible, it was Tony Stark. Even though with men like Ross out there in the world, Peter didn't see how it was feasible. If Ross was even still out there…

"Um did you…" He trailed off, not sure if he had any right to ask or if he even wanted to know the answer.

"Did I what?" Tony asked patiently.

"Did you kill him?" He asked in a whisper.

"Ross?" Tony clarified.

Peter nodded.

He could see the answer in his dad's eyes immediately, but he wondered if the man would tell him the truth or lie.

"Yes." Tony said unapologetically, not breaking eye contact with him. "I did."

The truth then.

"Oh." Peter didn't know what else to say in reply. Thank you? That seemed kind of sick. Peter wasn't even sure if he'd wanted the man dead, regardless of what he'd done to him. Peter had never killed anyone. He couldn't even really envision it even when he tried. Not killing was kind of Spiderman's thing. Although he knew the Avengers weren't the same. They killed people. He'd just never really thought about it before or been faced with it. Seen it. But now he had. And he knew he needed some time to process it. To try to come to terms with it.

But he also knew he needed to say something. Tony was still staring down at him expectantly, but he didn't look worried.

"Ok." Peter finally settled on his response.

"Ok." Tony echoed, brows furrowing. "That's it? Just…ok?"

Peter shrugged and then thought of something else. "Um…you're not going to get in trouble are you?"

"Am I going to get in trouble for killing the man that kidnapped you for blackmail and then shot you and almost killed you?" Tony scoffed. "No. I'm not."

"But…isn't he like the Secretary of State?" Peter asked.

"I don't care who he is." Tony said. "He took you from me and he hurt you. And he paid for it."

"But...what if you get arrested?" Peter asked in a scared whisper.

Oh god what if Tony went to jail because of him? What would happen to him then?

The corner of Tony's lip twitched but he schooled his expression when he saw how worried Peter actually was before assuring him, "I'm not going to get arrested kiddo. It won't get back to me. Don't worry."

"If you're sure…" Peter said dubiously.

"I'm sure."

"Ok." Peter sighed.

Tony scrutinized him and Peter tried to keep any of his inner turmoil off his face.

"You all right?" His dad asked gently.

Peter knew Tony was asking about his emotional state but he purposely pretended to misunderstand as he answered, "Yeah. It barely hurts."

Tony's brow furrowed but he didn't call him out on it.

Instead, his dad said, "Let me know if that changes."

"Ok." Peter agreed.

Tony looked down at him with affection in his eyes as he smoothed Peter's hair back off his forehead.

Peter gave him an appreciative smile and said, "Thanks for coming to get me."

Tony cocked his head slightly and gave him a half befuddled, half amused frown.

"It's just that…for a second there, I thought…" Peter rambled, trying to explain. "Well, I was worried…"

"Worried about what?" Tony asked, frown deepening.

"Um that you wouldn't come…"

"What? Why?"

"After what I did with FRIDAY." Peter said as if it made all the sense in the world.

Tony gaped at him.

"I mean I just didn't know if you'd think I was worth all the trouble anymore…I didn't know if you'd uh…really want me anymore…" Peter fidgeted as he tried to explain. "And I um I know the Accords are super important so I just thought…or I worried…maybe um…"

"Stop." Tony commanded and held a hand up. His dad closed his eyes and rubbed them roughly. Then he took a deep breath and looked at Peter again and asked with shocked disbelief, "You didn't think I'd want you anymore?"

Peter shrugged and looked away, unable to meet his dad's eyes, as he mumbled, "You were really mad."

Tony took another deep breath and shook his head. "Yes. I was. But that doesn't mean I don't want you anymore. That's not how it works kiddo. You're my son. I love you. There's nothing you could _ever_ do that would change that. Ok? _Nothing._ No matter what you do, you're stuck with me forever."

Peter felt his eyes start to fill. His lower lip trembled as he tried to keep from crying at the reaffirmation that Tony would never leave him.

"And I'll always come for you." Tony promised solemnly and reached out to cup his cheek. " _Always_. Got it?"

Peter gave him a shaky nod.

"And you're definitely more important than anything to do with the Accords." Tony continued. " _You_ are the most important thing to me. Because you're my _son_. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." Peter whispered and gave him a hesitant half smile.

Tony searched his face and seemed to find the acceptance he was looking for there.

"Good." His dad said, with a nod, satisfied. "But don't think this means you're not still grounded."

Peter laughed and it hurt his ribs a little.

Tony ran a hand over Peter's hair again. His dad narrowed his eyes slightly, obviously thinking deeply about something, before he took a deep breath and started, "Listen Peter. There's one other thing we need to talk about."

The seriousness caught his attention. He frowned and waited for Tony to continue.

"When we were on the Quinjet, you mentioned something about a dream…" Tony explained vaguely.

Peter frowned. A dream?

"About your parents?" Tony prompted. "You wanted me to remind you."

The memories came flooding back instantly at the reminder. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten. Especially since it'd been so real. He could remember every little detail of it, nothing like his usual dreams.

"I remember." He muttered.

"What do you remember?" Tony prodded.

"It was all white everywhere. My parents were there. And so were Ben and May. They-they hugged me and told me they loved me and that they missed me. And-and they said that all they wanted was for me to be happy." He couldn't keep the smile off his face at the memory of the dream. "And then I had to choose whether to stay with them or come back."

It'd been so real.

Tony paled. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Or like he needed to throw up.

Peter was about to ask if he was ok when his dad swallowed and asked, voice high and tight, "And you decided to come back?"

"Yeah. And they were glad I did. They told me they wanted me to live my life. And that I should stop feeling guilty." He continued then whispered mostly to himself, "It was so real."

"I think it might've been kiddo." Tony said softly.

"What?" Peter asked, confused. "Might've been what?"

"Real." Tony answered and he didn't seem to be joking.

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked with an edge in his voice. "It was just a dream. There's no way it could've been real."

"Peter. There's something you need to know." Tony said.

Peter waited as Tony closed his eyes then took a deep breath before opening them and confessing, "When Steve got you back to the Quinjet, I don't know how much you remember…"

Peter shook his head and answered, "Not much really."

"Well," Tony hesitated then continued, "you were in pretty bad shape. Worse than I knew or I never would've let you out of my sight. You know that right?"

Peter frowned but nodded because he could tell Tony wanted some kind of confirmation of that fact.

"You'd lost a lot of blood. Too much. And…" Tony trailed off and took another couple short breaths before he managed to finish, "And your heart stopped."

Peter's eyes went wide with shock. "What?"

Tony started brushing his hand through Peter's hair again soothingly, pain evident in his expression as he said, "You died baby."

"I-I did?"

Tony nodded. "For six minutes."

"Holy shit." Peter said.

Tony gave him a look but didn't chastise him for the language.

"Bruce managed to get your heart started again, and you're going to be fine, but…that stuff with your parents and your aunt and uncle…I don't think it was a dream…" Tony said.

"Wow." Peter whispered and tried to consider the possibility that he'd actually talked to his parents. To Ben and May. That it had been real.

Peter was smart enough to know the science behind basic biology. If his heart had stopped and he'd been…dead…then his brain hadn't been getting enough oxygen to dream. It couldn't have been a dream.

"Oh my god." He whispered to himself.

"Are you ok?" Tony asked in concern, hand still moving through his hair.

"It was real." Peter said in surprise as he looked at Tony. His parents still loved him and missed him.

"Yeah." Tony agreed.

"They weren't mad at me." Peter said in amazement.

"Of course not."

"Ben didn't blame me." Peter blurted out.

"Because it wasn't your fault." Tony said more sternly.

"And my dad called you my other dad. He said he knew how to share." Peter smiled and Tony let out a little laugh.

"They all just wanted me to be happy."

"I told you. Remember?" Tony said with a smile.

Peter smiled back. He did remember. His dad had been right.

"Maybe next time you'll listen to your old man." Tony joked.

"We'll see." He said playfully back with a smirk.

Tony rolled his eyes but softened it by leaning over and kissing his forehead.

"I can't believe I actually died." Peter said in astonishment as his dad straightened back up. "It just felt like falling asleep…"

Peter's brow furrowed. It had. He remembered feeling more tired than he'd ever felt in his life and then consciousness had just slipped away. And apparently life too.

Tony looked down at him with worry.

"You're here now. You're all right." Tony reassured.

Peter held his hand up and Tony grabbed it and gave it a squeeze, knowing what he wanted by the gesture alone.

"But let's just agree to never do the dying thing again, deal?" Tony said, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't quite work. Peter could still see the naked fear in his eyes.

"Sorry I scared you." Peter apologized again.

"God kid you have no idea." His dad said, gripping his hand tighter. "Never again, all right?"

Peter nodded and gave him a heartening smile, even though he knew that wasn't something he could actually guarantee.

"I love you kiddo." Tony said, and Peter could see the pure love and adoration on his dad's face as he said it.

"I love you too dad." Peter said, for the first time not feeling a single twinge of guilt at calling Tony dad. Not now that he knew his biological father didn't mind. That no one in his family minded. That they all just wanted him to live a long, happy life. Even though he'd died, and that idea would probably freak him out for a long time to come, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe it'd been worth it for this newfound peace.

* * *

"We're back!" Clint announced as he, Steve, Sam, and Rhodey walked in, saddled with grocery bags.

"Don't get up kid." Clint added jokingly in Peter's direction as he walked into the compound's common area. His dad had kept him at the compound claiming he didn't think Peter was ready to travel yet. That was probably true, but Peter wondered if it was more because his dad felt safer here than in the city. And that it was easier to keep him out of trouble and away from temptation here. At least everyone else had decided to stay at the compound too while Peter recovered instead of going back to the Tower. It was kind of nice.

Clint dropped the bags in his hands off on the kitchen counter before walking over to Peter. Peter smiled at him from his place on the sectional. He sat on the chaise end with his legs stretched out in front of him toward the TV, an abundance of soft pillows under his right leg. As the man approached, Peter picked his head up from where it was resting against his dad's shoulder. Tony didn't relinquish the arm he still had wrapped around Peter's back but his grip loosened to allow him to sit up straighter.

"How you doing kid?" Clint asked with a ruffle of his hair.

"I'm good." He answered. It was true. It'd been a few days since he'd had surgery to repair the gunshot wound and as long as he didn't move, his leg didn't hurt at all. And his chest was getting better too. The broken ribs from Steve's chest compressions were healing. Peter thought he was fine to go back to school but Tony hadn't allowed it. His dad and Bruce were making him take the whole week off to rest, and he hadn't tried to argue much because he knew he'd freaked everyone out with the whole dying thing. They all still had a certain sliver of fear in their eyes when they looked at him. Even Clint right now.

"Hey Legolas are you going to help us put this stuff away or not." Sam jibed from the kitchen where he, Rhodey and Steve were unpacking the bags of groceries.

"I think I'll pass." Clint called back with a smirk.

"You're making dinner then." Rhodey said.

"Fine!" Clint yelled then turned to look down at Peter, smirk still in place, and asked, "What kind of pizza do you want squirt? Apparently I'm ordering tonight."

Tony snorted from next to him and Peter grinned and answered, "The usual."

"Pepperoni and green olive it is." Clint said and gave him a nod before collapsing back into the empty armchair by Peter's feet, turning sideways so his legs dangled over the side so he could watch the television, which was playing Batman Begins.

"Where's everyone else?" Tony asked Clint curiously once he was settled.

"Viz and Wanda went into the city to do…something. I think maybe they went to the Met? I don't know. And Scott's running some kind of errand. Getting something for Cassie maybe? And Nat and Bruce should be here soon. They were doing…something in the city too? I'm not sure." Clint answered distractedly with a shrug.

"Wow. You sure do keep amazing track of everyone." Tony said sarcastically. "Do we have your superspy training to thank for that?"

Clint didn't even look in the man's direction. He just flipped him off over his shoulder.

Tony threw a throw pillow at the back of the man's head in retribution, but Clint just grabbed it off the floor where it'd fallen after hitting him and shoved it behind his head.

"Thanks man." Clint said with fake gratitude.

"Yeah keep it up and you can drive yourself to DC on Friday." Tony threatened. The Avengers were planning on flying down to DC in a few days to sign the final Accords paperwork. After he'd gotten hurt, Tony had rescheduled the official signing from Monday to Friday. None of the other Avengers had argued.

Clint didn't respond. He just flipped his dad off again.

"That's strike two." Tony warned.

"Oo really? How many do I get?" Clint joked, clearly unconcerned. "Four? Five?"

His dad rolled his eyes but didn't continue the banter.

Instead, Tony tugged lightly at Peter's shoulder and Peter let him pull him back against his side without resisting. His dad had been extra clingy, but he could understand it, so he'd allowed it without complaint since he _had_ just been kidnapped, shot, and then dead for a little while. Plus, he kind of wanted to stay close to his dad too. It made him feel safe, which he was kind of craving since he'd been well…kidnapped, shot, and briefly dead.

He took a deep breath and let it out as he burrowed closer to Tony. His dad got the hint and readjusted his arm so he was slumped more against the man's chest than his shoulder. It was a lot more comfortable and he could smell all the characteristic scents of Tony better, which relaxed him even more.

"I'm tired." He mumbled.

"I know." His dad said softly as he gave him a little squeeze and kissed the top of his head.

Peter loved his enhanced healing but he hated that it came with the trade off of being tired all the time while it worked. He'd fought sleep all day to try to prove to his dad that he actually could've gone to school, and he'd done a good job so far, but now his energy was flagging. And the clock by the TV only read 1:45PM. Damn. If he couldn't stay up until at least 3:30PM there was no way his dad would even consider letting him go to school tomorrow.

Before Tony could say anything else, Rhodey, Sam, and Steve walked over and interrupted. It hadn't just been his dad that'd stuck close. All the Avengers had smothered him with their own version of love and affection ever since he'd been rescued from Ross's hideout. The first time he'd woken up in the Medbay only his dad had been there, but every other time after there'd been at least two or three additional Avengers there waiting to see him and talk to him and reassure themselves he was fine. Apparently that hadn't changed even though he'd been released from the Medbay.

"How you doing pipsqueak?" Sam asked as he ruffled his hair like Clint had.

"Great." He said with a sleepy smile. This time when he tried to sit back up, Tony held tight and wouldn't let him, keeping him securely in place against his chest. Hm. Maybe he shouldn't have admitted he was tired.

"That's good." Rhodey said, taking his turn to tossle Peter's hair. "Leg ok?"

"Yeah. It's not too bad." Peter answered.

Rhodey nodded but scrutinized him closely.

"Really." Peter insisted.

Rhodey turned to his dad, looking for affirmation.

"He's healing." Tony reassured him. Rhodey gave Tony a solemn nod and then he and Sam went over to plop down on the open love seat.

Steve stayed and knelt down in front of him, settling a gentle hand on his uninjured left knee.

"You sure you're ok?" He asked seriously, but softly, at almost a whisper. Peter appreciated the discretion. He knew he wasn't only asking about his physical injuries.

A corner of his mouth quirked up. Instead of instinctively saying what he thought Steve wanted to hear, he considered the question for a moment. Steve deserved an honest answer. He owed it to the man.

"I will be." He answered.

"Ok." Steve nodded. "If you ever want to talk about anything, you know where to find me."

Peter smiled and then said appreciatively, "Thanks Steve."

The man stood and graced Peter with his own million watt smile before ruffling his hair like the others had done. Steve took a seat on the empty couch cushion on the opposite side of his dad.

As everyone settled in to watch the movie, Tony smoothed a hand over his hair, fixing the damage everyone had inflicted with all the ruffling.

"Thanks." Peter mumbled and Tony answered with another kiss to the top of his head once his locks were all straightened back out.

Peter watched the movie for another ten minutes until the part where Alfred picked Bruce up from somewhere in Asia and flew him back to Gotham. His blinks were getting longer and longer and his head started to ache from fatigue. The clock still said it was only 2:10PM. He was a little over an hour short but he was almost too tired to care at this point. Screw it. There was probably no way he was going to school tomorrow or the next day anyway. His dad had already said no school this week and once he'd made up his mind that was usually it. He was almost as stubborn, if not more stubborn, than Peter.

Peter rolled onto his left side, being careful not to jostle his hurt leg too much as he moved. He turned and nuzzled his head more into Tony's chest and brought a hand up to grip his dad's shirt in a loose fist.

Tony figured out what he was doing right away and wrapped both arms around him and pulled him up even closer so his head was tucked right under his dad's chin.

Tony rubbed one of his hands up and down his back in a soothing manner. He felt completely safe. It was everything he'd craved when he'd been kidnapped by Ross. His eyes slowly drifted closed. He sighed and relaxed even further against his dad.

He took a second to appreciate his luck. He hadn't died but he'd gotten to see his family and talk to them. He didn't have to wonder about what they'd think anymore. He knew they were fine with how everything had turned. He hadn't felt so settled in a long time. And his dad was still here with him. He loved him and Peter knew he wasn't going to leave him no matter what. He'd be Tony's son forever. And he knew his biological father didn't mind. They'd get to see each other again some day. But for now, he was Tony's and Tony's alone.

Well sort of. Besides acquiring a dad in Tony, he'd somehow gained another family in the rest of the team. If he'd ever doubted that, the events over the last week had definitely solidified it in his mind. None of them were related by blood, but it didn't matter. They were still family. Like he and May had been family even though she hadn't been related to him in any way either. She had loved him all the same. Just like Tony. Just like the Avengers.

He let out a small smile against his dad's chest. He didn't have worry anymore.

Everything was going to be all right.

* * *

A/N: Is that enough fluff? I tried to make up for all the angst from before. The last chapter should be posted in the next couple days, so keep an eye out. Again, thank you all so much for your feedback!


	31. Chapter 31

Peter waited in one of the large anterooms with Happy and Pepper while his dad and the rest of the Avengers finished signing the Accords. Peter had offered to stay home alone for the day, but Tony had refused to even consider it. He hadn't wanted to let Peter out of his sight yet, so he'd dragged him along with them on the Quinjet. Truthfully, Peter hadn't minded. After everything with Ross, he'd been nervous at the thought of not having his dad nearby.

Peter leaned further onto his crutches, his injured right leg held up off the ground. He still wasn't able to walk on it, and holding it up while on crutches still hurt and drained him, but he'd been careful not to let anyone know. He didn't want to cause any more worry after he'd scared the crap out of all of them recently.

"You sure you don't want to sit down Peter?" Pepper asked from where she sat on one of the nearby couches, typing something on the laptop resting on her lap. Since this was such a monumental event, she'd tagged along in the interest of SI.

"No I'm all right." Peter said turning to flash her a smile before he went back to studying one of the old oil paintings on the wall in front of him.

"Sit down kid." Happy said. "Your dad will have my head for letting you stay on your feet this long."

"I'm fine Happy." Peter said. He knew the man was just as worried about him as the rest of the Avengers. He'd overheard a conversation between Tony and Rhodey earlier when they thought he'd been asleep. Tony had mentioned something about Happy feeling guilty for Peter getting kidnapped under his watch, and then he'd said something else about Happy actually having emotions because he'd teared up when he'd been told Peter had died for six minutes. So even though his dad's head of security tried to act all tough and annoyed by him, Peter knew he actually had quite the soft spot for him.

"Sit down." Happy ordered. "I'm not going to tell you again."

Peter rolled his eyes, still facing the painting.

"I saw that." Happy added.

"No you didn't." Peter said as he turned around to eye him skeptically.

"Yes I did." Happy said then pointed his index and middle finger at his own eyes before turning them toward Peter. "I see and know everything you do pal. It's why your dad hired me to watch you."

Peter quirked an eyebrow up at him in disbelief, although he couldn't really argue about that last part. He knew Tony had made Happy tag along to DC for the express purpose of guarding Peter, which seemed ridiculous since he was still Spiderman even though he was a little hurt. He could still totally defend himself if he needed to. He didn't need his own personal bodyguard. It seemed excessive.

"Boys. Play nice." Pepper muttered from the couch as she stared distractedly at the computer screen.

"I am playing nice." Happy said. "It's the kid. I swear he's trying to kill me."

"No I'm not." Peter denied.

"Then sit down." Happy said in challenge.

"But I'm fine." Peter protested even as his leg throbbed at the lie.

"You've been standing up for over half an hour." Happy argued. "That's too long. Tony said no longer than fifteen minutes. So sit your butt down."

"Seriously? He told you that?" Peter asked, face twisting in irritation. God his dad could get so overprotective when he was hurt.

"Yes and since I'm in charge of you, you're supposed to listen to me." Happy complained. "So _sit_. Don't make me say it again."

"Fine." Peter sighed heavily but acquiesced. He didn't want to give Happy a stroke.

He pivoted carefully on the crutches and headed toward Pepper's couch to sit next to her.

"No not there. Over here kid." Happy said and indicated the other empty couch in the room that he was standing by. "You need to get your leg up."

Peter rolled his eyes again but listened and started in the direction of the other couch.

"I saw that." Happy deadpanned.

"Good."

"I swear every day you turn more and more into Tony." Happy griped, the complaint a familiar one.

"Thanks." Peter smirked.

Pepper let out a little laugh from the other couch.

"That wasn't a compliment." Happy muttered.

Peter finally made it to the couch and lowered himself down carefully.

For how annoyed he'd acted with him, Happy sure was quick to help him. The man grabbed his crutches and got them out of the way and then knelt down to help Peter turn sideways and put his legs up lengthwise on the couch in a way that wouldn't hurt his injured leg too much.

But no matter how gentle the man tried to be, moving it still hurt. Peter grit his teeth and let out a nearly inaudible grunt as his leg was set down on the couch.

"You ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Peter reassured, feeling kind of bad for making Happy worry. "Sorry."

"You want me to go get you some pillows to prop it up on?" Happy asked. He'd seen Peter in that position on the couch at home countless times this week.

"No that's all right, Happy. Thanks though." Peter shook his head with a grateful smile.

"I'm going to go grab some pillows." Happy decided anyway then pointed a finger down at him. "Don't move."

"I won't." Peter agreed. He couldn't even if he wanted to. Happy had placed his crutches against the wall too far out of his reach to grab. Probably on purpose. And it wasn't like he had his web shooters on to web them over to him. Tony still had them along with his suit.

He watched Happy walk out one of the doors and then return less than a minute later with three throw pillows. Peter had to admit he was impressed. Where had the man even found throw pillows, and so quickly? Sometimes Peter forgot there was a reason Happy was one of Tony's longest standing personal employees. It should be no surprise he could easily make seemingly impossible things happen. He wondered if that was a prerequisite for working for his dad. Pepper seemed to have the same magical power.

Happy gently settled two pillows under his leg and then propped the third one behind his back.

"Comfortable?" He asked Peter seriously, no hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah." Peter nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."

"Just take it easy." Happy directed. "You don't want to set your recovery back."

"I know Happy." Peter said in an exasperated tone. He'd heard the same thing said in countless ways from everyone the past couple days.

Happy pulled a big arm chair over from another corner of the room and placed it so he was half facing Peter and half facing the door that led outside. Peter recognized it as a better position to guard him and keep him safe. Happy sure took his job seriously. As he sat down, Peter saw a flash of the gun on his belt. He wondered how the man had gotten that through all the security. Probably with some other employee of Tony Stark magic.

Happy caught him eyeing the piece before Peter could look away and he sighed and looked at Peter, expression serious.

"Listen kid." He started and then cleared his throat awkwardly. "I know we don't really talk about it, but I just want you to know that I-I care about you. And not just because you're Tony's kid. I mean that's part of the reason, but you're-you're a good kid."

"Thanks Happy." Peter said. He could feel his cheeks heating at the uncharacteristic display of emotion. "I um...I care about you too."

"And I want you to know I would've put a bullet in that piece of shit's skull if your dad hadn't gotten to him first." Happy said with unbridled anger.

Peter blinked in shock at the bluntness.

" _Happy!_ " Pepper yelled, sounding horrified from the other side of the room.

"What?" Happy turned toward her, genuinely confused by the chastisement.

Pepper shook her head and put her computer down on the couch so she could walk over to them.

"You can't say that to him." She explained.

"Why not?" Happy frowned.

"He's a kid!"

"So? He still deserves to know."

Pepper sat down on the edge of the couch so she was facing Peter.

"Honey." She said and reached a hand out to flick a strand of hair off his forehead. "Happy didn't mean that."

"Yes I did." Happy argued.

Pepper shot him a death glare and the man held his hands up in fake defeat.

"He doesn't need to know the details. Do you want him to be afraid of you? Or _Tony_?" Pepper accused and Happy looked a little chagrined at that.

"I'm not afraid of Happy. Or dad. I never could be." Peter argued this time. It was true.

"I know kid." Happy said and patted his shoulder, but Pepper still didn't look happy.

"Um is that how…my dad…is that how he killed him?" He asked. He couldn't seem to get the vision of Ross's brains blown away out of his mind.

Pepper held her hands out as if to say, 'See? Now look what you did.'

Happy cleared his throat and fidgeted. "I'm not sure."

"You're lying." Peter frowned. "You do know. You both probably know. Why can't you just tell me? I'm not a baby."

"Because Pepper's right." Happy said as he glanced at her and then turned back to Peter. "You don't need to know the gory details. And it's not our decision. If you want to know, you'll have to ask your dad."

"He won't tell me." Peter complained. Even though he hadn't outright asked Tony, he knew even if he did, there was no way the man would tell him all the gruesome specifics.

But maybe Nat would. The details were kind of blurry because apparently he'd been dying at the time, but he had a vague recollection of Nat staying behind with his dad when Clint and Steve had left with him. Although, even if Nat would tell him, he wasn't completely sure he really wanted to know. It was hard to imagine his dad killing someone. Even if that someone was Ross.

"That's probably for the best honey." Pepper soothed, patting the knee of his good leg.

"Yeah. I guess." Peter sighed. He decided not to prod for any more information. "How much longer do you think they're going to be?"

"Why? You bored with us already?" Happy joked.

"Probably not too much longer." Pepper answered and then stood and walked back over to the other couch to grab her bag. She pulled out a deck of cards and came back.

"How about we play a game to pass the time?" She offered.

Peter smiled. He loved Pepper.

"What kind of game?" Happy asked suspiciously. "There's only three of us."

"How about Go Fish?" Pepper suggested.

"What are we, five? I'm not playing Go Fish." Happy wrinkled his nose. "But I'll play Bullshit. You know that one right kid?"

"Yeah. Duh. Everyone knows that game." Peter answered. It wasn't exactly an intellectual game, but it was fun enough, and it was something to do besides sitting and staring at the walls.

They both turned expectant eyes toward Pepper.

"Oh fine." She agreed and then started to deal. "But no swearing in front of the innocent ears."

"His ears aren't that innocent." Happy muttered.

"We say BS instead. Agreed?" Pepper continued, ignoring Happy.

Peter and Happy nodded.

Yeah that lasted all of two minutes before Happy slipped and then Pepper slipped and then everyone was saying bullshit.

"Two sevens." Happy said as he placed two cards down on the pile face down.

"Bullshit!" Peter yelled. He knew Happy was bluffing since he had three sevens in his own hand.

"Dammit!" Happy swore and picked up the large pile.

"Whoa. Language." Tony's voice suddenly appeared. "What are you two teaching my kid?"

They turned and watched as Tony and the rest of the Avengers streamed in through the door that lead into the Senate room.

"Oh please you know he's no angel." Happy said as Tony walked over toward them.

"Happy taught me how to play Bullshit." Peter said earnestly as his dad stopped to stand by his couch. "I've been corrupted."

"You little gremlin." Happy grumbled. "Don't listen to him boss. He already knew how to play."

Peter grinned widely and unapologetically up at his dad. "Who are you going to believe? Me or Happy?"

Even Pepper laughed at that.

"Happy." Tony answered instantly.

Peter fake gasped. "You didn't even think about it."

"Oh please kid. He knows you." Happy said.

Peter let out a put upon sigh.

"How'd the signing go?" Pepper asked as she gathered the cards and stood.

"Fine." Tony shrugged. "Everything's all set. Just like we agreed. No last minute changes. We signed everything we needed to and now they're going to feed us up and then we can get out of here."

Right as Tony said it, some government aids wheeled carts full of food into the room. The Avengers made a beeline to the offerings. Peter's mouth started to water at the delicious smells. He hadn't eaten in a few hours and that was another thing his spider healing demanded. More food. More sleep and more food. He hated getting hurt. It was like he turned into a toddler.

"You hungry kid?" Happy asked him, catching his coveting gaze.

Peter nodded.

"I'll get you a plate." Happy offered. "Sit tight."

"No. I got it Happy." His dad said, waving him off. "Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Tony said. "I'll be right back. Watch the kid."

"You got it boss." Happy said and slouched further into his armchair.

Pepper followed Tony, and Peter watched as she helped his dad load up two plates with food. As he walked back with a plate in each hand, Pepper stayed and filled another two plates with food as well.

Tony sat down on the edge of the couch and handed him the plate with almost twice the amount of food on it.

"Thanks." Peter said as he grabbed it and started to dig in. The catering selection was smart. Since there weren't any tables in the room, all the food could be eaten without silverware. Peter took a mini quiche and shoved it in his mouth.

"This is good." He said appreciatively as he chewed.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Tony reminded lightly as he picked up a grape from his own plate and popped it in his mouth.

Peter gave him an incredulous look and went back to inhaling the food in front of him. He was starving.

Pepper came over a minute later and handed a plate to Happy while she kept the other one for herself.

"Thanks Pepper." Happy said as he took it.

Happy and Tony both offered their seats to her but she elected to stand and eat.

Rhodey came over a couple minutes later and posted up next to Happy as they all ate and talked about various things. Peter didn't really contribute much. He just took it all in.

Some of the other Avengers stopped by to chitchat briefly but none of them stayed for too long. Steve and Bruce stayed the longest, but even they eventually went back to mingle with everyone else in the room. Peter wondered if it was because Tony was surrounded by his oldest friends and they were giving him time with them. Peter couldn't even remember a time he'd ever been with his just his dad, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey. Sure, he'd been around different combinations of them at different times, but never all of them at once and never only them. It was interesting.

Rhodey jazzed his dad about things that had happened in the past. That was nothing new. But then Happy or Pepper would chime in and it made it all that much better. But all the teasing was lighthearted and Peter could tell they all really loved his dad.

"I see how it is." Tony complained after one particular story, but the crinkles at the corner of his eyes gave away the fact that he was actually enjoying it. "You're all ganging up on me."

"Just stating the facts Tones." Rhodey said.

"What you call facts, I call lies." Tony argued from where he still sat on the couch at Peter's hip.

"Facts." Rhodey reiterated.

"Don't listen to him kiddo. They're definitely lies." Tony told Peter as he gave his good leg a gentle squeeze.

Pepper chuckled as she typed something on her phone.

The whole interaction was nice. It was warm. Comfortable. Safe.

Peter smiled.

It was a familiar sensation.

It was family.

* * *

" _And we have a photograph we're going to show you viewers. Something that's sure to get everyone talking." The TV anchor said dramatically. "It was taken last week at the Accords amendments signing by a government aid in the room the Avengers went to after the signing."_

 _A somewhat grainy photo popped up on the screen._

" _As you can see, the quality of the photo isn't great, but you can definitely see Tony Stark sitting on the couch in the background surrounded by some of his closest friends. In case you don't know who they are, we'll identify them for you. Pepper Potts the CEO of Stark Industries is standing right behind him. You can see the head of Stark's security, the man who used to be Stark's personal bodyguard before he became Ironman, who goes by the name Happy Hogan, sitting in the armchair across from Stark. Colonel James Rhodes, also known as War Machine or Iron Patriot depending on your preference, who is Tony Stark's longest standing friend, is standing next to Hogan. But the big question here, the question everyone's going to be asking, is who is this kid sitting on the couch with Tony Stark?"_

 _The screen zoomed in to show the blurry profile of a teenage boy with brown hair, looking at Tony with a smile on his face as Tony said something to Rhodes._

" _Who is this kid that he gets admittance to the room housing the Avengers after the signing? And not only that, but he's also clearly gained acceptance into Tony's Stark's closest inner circle. And is sitting next to Tony Stark himself?"_

" _And you can see the way Stark's facing him in the image even as he talks to Colonel Rhodes." The co-anchor commented. "We actually had one of our body language experts analyze the photo and according to her, since Stark's shoulders along with his hips are angled toward this boy, it's an indicator that to Stark, this boy is the most important person in the room. The one most deserving of his attention. In a group of his closest friends. It sure makes you wonder…"_

" _It really does John." The original anchor commented again._

" _So the big question on our minds and soon to be on everyone else's is…who is this kid?"_

* * *

A/N: I can't believe this story's over, but as you can see I'm planning on writing more in this series, so it's not really the end. I'm just having too much fun to be done yet. I have the next story completely outlined but I haven't started writing it yet so it'll probably be awhile before I start posting. Thank you all for patiently bearing with me as it took me over a year to finish this story and for all your support and amazing feedback! Also, it probably goes without saying but please don't post any Endgame spoilers or hints in the comments out of respect for people who haven't seen it (sadly, I'm not seeing it until Saturday).


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